UMUAHIA — The United Kingdom and Abia State Government are exploring deeper cooperation in digital transformation, power, trade, investment and other sectors aimed at supporting economic development in the state.
The British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Jonny Baxter, stated this on Wednesday during a courtesy visit to the Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, in Umuahia.
Baxter led a delegation from the British High Commission to the meeting, held ahead of a state-level digital transformation programme scheduled to commence in Abia.
The visit formed part of the diplomat’s two-day official engagement in the state, during which discussions focused on power, trade and commerce, digital transformation, transportation, education and governance. The delegation was also scheduled to engage stakeholders and visit major projects.
Baxter said the UK valued its partnership with Nigeria, describing it as one based on shared interests, values and experiences.
“The United Kingdom has a really strong partnership with Nigeria. It is a partnership based on so many shared interests and values and shared experiences in so much depth, and it is a partnership that, on the UK side, we value massively,” he said.
He said the relationship had expanded beyond diplomatic ties to include economic cooperation, trade, investment, technology and development initiatives.
Baxter said the UK was particularly interested in supporting initiatives that could help different parts of Nigeria realise their economic potential, adding that two UK-supported programmes were active in Abia.
He identified the Financial Sector Deepening Africa, FSD Africa, programme as one of the initiatives, saying it was supporting efforts to mobilise private finance for an integrated waste-management and recycling project in partnership with Kaltani.
He also highlighted the Digital Access Programme, DAP, which he said was designed to help states establish the policy, regulatory and institutional environment required to expand digital inclusion and the digital economy.
The programme, he said, would support policy and regulatory development, capacity building and stakeholder engagement to enable more residents to participate in the digital economy.
“The UK’s Digital Access Programme has previously supported digital inclusion, digital skills and policy development in Nigeria,” Baxter said.
The current state-level reform component of the UK programme, known as State-level Policy, Regulatory and Institutional Reforms Enabling Digital Transformation, SPRIRET, is being implemented in Abia and other selected Nigerian states.
Baxter said the UK was also working with communities in Arochukwu and Okporoenyi to establish sustainable connectivity hubs where residents could access the internet and digital services.
Earlier, the Deputy High Commissioner visited the Geometric Power Plant in Aba, where he described the project as significant in addressing Nigeria’s electricity challenges.
He said reliable and affordable electricity remained one of the major constraints to economic development in the country.
“It is really clear that one of the key constraints in Nigeria’s economy at the moment is the availability of power, the reliability of power and the affordability of power,” Baxter said.
“To see this integrated project here, working and providing solutions to that, was really fascinating,” he added.
Baxter also commended the project’s use of metering technology, saying reliable metering could help build trust between electricity providers and consumers.
He said reliable electricity, digital connectivity and other enabling infrastructure could create conditions for businesses to invest and expand.
The diplomat also expressed interest in Abia’s efforts to retain skilled professionals and create opportunities for young people to contribute to the development of their communities.
Referring to the migration summit to be hosted by the state, Baxter said discussions around creating incentives for people to remain and contribute to their communities were important.
He also said people migrating abroad should have better information about the realities they could encounter.
Baxter assured the governor that the UK would continue to explore partnerships with the Abia Government, businesses and companies, including opportunities to connect Abia businesses with potential UK partners and supply chains.
Responding, Otti thanked the British Deputy High Commissioner and his delegation for the visit and said the state remained open to partnerships capable of supporting its economic development.
The governor particularly welcomed Baxter’s visit to the Geometric Power Plant, describing electricity as critical to the success of Abia’s manufacturing and business sectors.
Otti said his administration was working to expand reliable electricity supply across the state, stressing that the cost of unreliable power was ultimately higher for businesses because of their dependence on generators, diesel and maintenance.
“Once you have reliable power, whatever the cost is, it is still going to be cheaper than not having reliable power,” he said.
The governor said Aba had a strong manufacturing base, particularly in footwear, garments and other locally produced goods.
He said the state was working with development partners, including the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, to improve the finishing, packaging and export potential of locally manufactured products.
Otti said the state was also working to expand power supply beyond Aba and secure the necessary rights to enable Abia operate as an integrated power market, leveraging infrastructure already available at Geometric Power.
On waste management, the governor welcomed the information that Kaltani was working with UK partners, saying the state wanted to move beyond waste collection to recycling and the conversion of waste into useful products and energy.
“If you can generate energy, if you can also generate products by recycling the waste, why not? So, I’m glad that they are working with UK partners. But there is a whole lot more that can be done,” Otti said.
The governor assured the delegation of the state government’s participation in the Digital Access Programme engagement scheduled for Thursday.
He said the government would continue to work with the UK team to identify practical areas of collaboration.
Otti also raised concerns over the migration of skilled professionals, particularly healthcare workers.
He disclosed that his administration had approved the recruitment of nearly 1,000 healthcare professionals, with about 200 vacancies still to be filled.
The governor also disclosed plans to establish a medical city in Abia, saying discussions had commenced with a company working with UK partners on the project.
“The whole idea is to reverse medical tourism. So if we have comparable facilities and healthcare professionals, nobody needs to go to Dubai or India to access quality medical care,” he said.
Otti expressed optimism that the engagement would strengthen government-to-government and business-to-business cooperation and support the state’s economic development.
The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, and other senior government officials attended the meeting.
