Abia starts rehabilitation of Aba-PH expressway, to be ready in Dec.

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

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L-R: Commissioner for Digital Economy, Dr. Matthew Ekwuribe, his Information and Culture counterpart, Prince Okey Kanu and Director-General of Abia Orientation Agency, Pastor Dike Nwankwo, during the briefing

With the permission of the Federal Government, Abia State government has started rehabilitating the dilapidated Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway, from the Aba section to Oyigbo in Rivers State, with an assurance that one of the dual carriage lanes would be ready for use by the end of this month.

This will be a welcome relief for motorist plying the route who have been subjected to untold hardship as alternative roads have proved burdensome and dangerous.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, who disclosed this, also announced that the state government was making advanced preparations that would enable Abians to participate in the federal government’s programme for training of three million Nigerians in digital skills.

On the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway, abandoned for its poor state for about a decade, Kanu said that work has started at both ends of Aba and Oyigbo, assuring that one end of the road would be ready by the end of November while the other would be completed by the end of December 2023. 

Recall that travelling from Abia to Port Harcourt has been a harrowing experience for over a decade as the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway deteriorated to the extent that motorists were forced to abandon the road and create alternative routes in bushes and farms to get to either Port Harcourt from Abia or vice versa.

Youth of communities in Abia and Rivers States where these alternative routes traverse have created “toll gates” as check points even as trips that should have lasted about half an hour to complete are now done in about two to three hours or even more, on bumpy, earth roads, with its associated risks.

But Kanu said Abia State government, having reached an agreement with the federal government when the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, visited the state recently to do palliative work on the Aba-Oyigbo stretch, has come to bring relief to the road users.

“I want to inform you that work has started on both ends of the Aba-Port Harcourt expressway, on both the Aba end and Obigbo-Port Harcourt end of the road. One side of the road would likely be ready by the end of November, while the other end would be ready by the end of December. We are going to carry out speedy renovation work on the road to make it motorable, for not just Abians, but other Nigerians that pass through the road.

“I believe this will address the cynicism of the naysayers. This is a government that says and means what it says and does what it says,” the Commissioner said.

On the digital skills training, Kanu said that Abia State Government was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Communication, and Digital Economy to facilitate participation of Abians in the training of three million Nigerians in digital skills.

The federal government would be providing the digital skills training programme in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

The Commissioner who was briefing newsmen on the outcome of this week’s edition of the Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti, said: “The Federal Ministry of Digital Economy and our own State Ministry of Digital Economy are collaborating with the National Information Technology Development agency (NITDA) to train about three million Nigerians in the acquisition of digital skills that will help them in their operations, in their businesses.”

Prince Kanu also said that the State Ministry of Digital Economy was creating a one-stop shop to streamline processes for agencies like NAFDAC, CAC, and SON, an initiative aimed at improving business prospects and ease of operation for companies in Abia, particularly the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

He added that Governor Otti has also supported the registration of over 600 businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), explaining that the gesture was to support SME entrepreneurs who previously faced registration challenges.

“His Excellency, Dr Alex Otti, has graciously supported about 600 companies to be registered with CAC. Funds were provided to support SMEs in Abia who hitherto could not afford to get registered to prepare them for business,” he said.

The Commissioner further announced that the State Ministry of Education would restart its suspended inspections and evaluations of private schools this week to ensure they meet government’s required standards.

He said that the State Executive Council is encouraging Abia youths to think of making a career in the security agencies, including the Nigerian Police and Nigerian Army, particularly as the Nigerian Police is currently recruiting. He added that the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is providing opportunities for young people and urged Abia youths to leverage on these opportunities to be employed, regretting that Abia State was lagging behind in the ongoing Nigerian Police recruitment exercise.

Giving details of the NITDA digital skills training, the Commissioner for Digital Economy, Mr. Mathew Ekwuribe, explained that the federal government’s 3 MTT digital skills acquisition programme would be rolled out in two phases.

Ekwuruibe said that the first phase would focus on 12 digital skills, including Cyber,-security, Game Development, Cloud Computing, Beef Ups, AI/Machine Learning, Data Science, Product Management, Quality Assurance, Data Analysis/Visualization, UI/UX Design, and Software Development.

The Commissioner added that registration for the digital skills training was ongoing and would end by the 1st of November while the training would be launched nationwide on 15th November, 2023. 

He said that the Ministry was partnering with Google to train Abia youths and register streets and roads in the state in the digital space to improve ease of doing business. 

“We want every business to be registered in Google so that it would be very easy for people to access their businesses online.

“Abia State has never been in the digital space, so we are doing all our best now to bring Abia to limelight,” Ekwuribe said.

Contributing, the Director-General of the Abia Orientation Agency, Pastor Dike Nwankwo, who expressed concern about street trading activities in Aba and Umuahia, announced that government would soon commence the enforcement of a ban on street trading in the state