By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Textile and garment makers in Aba, Abia State, may soon get federal support, as the Federal Government has begun moves to address the infrastructure and finance gaps that have long constrained their businesses.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Industry, Trade and Investment, John Uwajimogu, disclosed this on Wednesday,30 September, 2026 while leading a delegation to a meeting with Governor Alex Otti at the Government House, Umuahia.
Uwajimogu said the Federal Government had taken note of Aba’s strong industrial capacity, especially its thriving textile and garment cluster, and was exploring concrete measures to support the businesses operating in the sector.
“One of the biggest things that we see coming out of Abia State is the strong industrial capacity in Aba, particularly in the textile and garments sector.
“And we have been thinking of how, from the federal level, we can support the businesses that are working in that sector and have come up with ideas on how we can address some of the biggest binding constraints that they often face, one being infrastructure and the other one being finance,” he said.
He explained that the delegation was in Abia to deepen engagement with the state government and to identify areas of collaboration in attracting federal projects, investments and interventions to the state.
According to him, the Federal Government is keen to bring more of its projects and programmes to Abia to stimulate economic development and expand opportunities for businesses.
Also on the delegation was the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), Cornelius Adebayo, who sought the state government’s support for the establishment of a Renewed Hope Mega Farm Estate in Abia.
Adebayo described Otti as a performer and reformer, noting that NALDA’s mandate is focused on poverty alleviation through agriculture.
He said the proposed mega farm would aggregate farmers while providing infrastructure, security, agricultural inputs and access to markets, in order to boost production and create sustainable incomes.
He expressed hope that Abia would host a major NALDA agricultural project, including a processing facility, and appealed to the governor to provide suitable land for the initiative.
In response, Otti said his administration was ready to work with NALDA and other stakeholders to unlock the state’s agricultural potential.
He described the proposed farm settlement as a practical pathway to increasing food production, creating jobs and reducing the state’s dependence on food imports.
The governor noted that, despite Abia’s limited landmass, the state has fertile and arable land suitable for cultivating cassava, yam, cocoyam, oil palm and cashew.
He recalled the success of the farm settlements established in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the defunct Star Paper Mill, as examples of ventures that showed the capacity to build sustainable enterprises locally.
Otti said the proposal aligned with his administration’s vision, stressing that excessive dependence on imported food was putting additional pressure on the foreign exchange market.
He therefore called for deliberate investment in local production to strengthen food security and ease that pressure.
The governor subsequently directed the Commissioners for Agriculture and Lands to identify suitable locations for the project, including existing farm settlements.
He also asked them to explore measures to strengthen the operations of NALDA’s office in Osisioma.
