Abia professionals on Friday urged the State Government to improve security, provide incentives for agricultural investments and create skill development opportunities to make Aba, the state’s economic capital, investor friendly.

The professionals gave the advice during a panel discussion at the ongoing Aba Urban Development Summit, stressing that practical development solutions to Aba’s backwardness lay in these steps.

The President, Abia Think-Tank Association, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, said that vocational and business management skills were critical to developing Aba and must be provided, if the commercial city must make notable development strides.

“The second thing is to support entrepreneurship by creating incubation centres for people who have business ideas. Government should go into partnerships to help young people incubate their businesses.”

Ohuabunwa also said that government should stop multiple-taxation and create opportunities for mechanised agriculture, to accelerate job creation in Aba.

Also speaking, Dr Lawrence Anukam, the Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), charged the government to ensure that NESREA sets up a field office in Abia, to sanitise its environment.

Anukam said that sustainable development was not possible without a pollution-free environment, noting that a good environment was good business.

He stressed that a healthy environment would help and entrepreneur to stabilise his business rather than impact it negatively.

In his remarks, Prof. Paul Nwulu, a representative of Ford Foundation advised the state government to cooperate with international donor agencies to improve its lot.

He said that paying the state’s counterpart funds to international agencies would help it tap into the financial and human resource reservoir of such agencies for its benefit.

Mrs Chika Balogun, the Director-General, National Institute of Hospitality and Tourism, charged the state government to add tourism to its development agenda and also make policies that would support the sector.

The Chief Executive Officer, ABC Transport, Mr Frank Nneji, decried the Abia’s 30th position on the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ratings by the World Bank group.

Nneji said that improving on the ease of doing business in the state would go a long way in attracting investors to the state.

He added that developing Aba would need collaboration between government and private investors. (NAN)

•Photo showsMazi Ohuabunwa.