The governor, who received a delegation from UNIDO and CAMCE at the Governor’s Lodge in Abakaliki said: “on the issue of power, hospital, mining, agriculture, industry we are very much interested.”
He specifically told the officials of the Chinese company led by the Director-General, Yu Tao: “we will like if we can get like 5MW to 10MW solar plant to light up the streets in our towns. This is very important to us because we need to extend business hours and check crimes in the state.”
Governor Umahi, who described Chinese investors as very reliable and dependable, thanked the United Nations Industrial Development Organization for being another strong development partner that has been assisting the state in various sectors like Rice mills, ICT and provision of medical solar lamps.
He said that the Chinese are very prudent in management, even as he assured all intending investors of safety and conducive environment.
“We find it very fascinating working with the Chinese because they are very serious-minded people. They are not extravagant. When I gave some bridges to some Chinese to build for us, they brought certain kinds of equipment. So people started texting me, asking ‘are these not multinational companies? Why is it that their equipment is not reflecting this?’
“I said to them ’wait for them to start work and see what they will produce. And so when they started, people, including some in government, began to wonder that a company that can does quality jobs like Julius Berger is in Ebonyi State.”
Governor Umahi,who had earlier noted the giant strides of his administration particularly in the provision of electricity and street lights across the state, described Ebonyians as very honest and hardworking people.
He however told the team which was led to the meeting by the UNIDO Country Representative, Dr. Chuma Ezedinma and the Managing Director of Urban Tech Engineering Ltd, Kingsley Agha, that they needed to quickly tidy up all arrangements to enable them start work on the power, agriculture, mining, manufacturing and health sectors.
“Let me mark it that the only bad behaviour we have is that we are very much in a hurry. We have no patience at all when it comes to development. We dont want projects that will be on the table for six months before takeoff; we want to start moving as quickly as possible.”
Earlier, Ezedinma who introduced the delegation, said he was pleased with Governor Umahi’s efforts to develop the state. He mentioned the 5MW Rice Husk Power plant as one area the governor had consistently been on his neck to get started. [myad]
