“Return Home, Invest in Abia: Safer, Business-Friendly Environment Awaits” TAN President, Chief Aruoma Tells Diaspora
Oru Leonard
The President of the Traders Association of Nigeria (TAN), Abia State chapter, National Officer of NACCIMA and the Immediate Past President of UCCIMA Chief Chidi Nkem Aruoma, has urged Abians living abroad to return home and invest, saying the state now offers a safer environment, clearer rules and business friendly policies that support trade, investment and enterprise growth.
Speaking with our correspondent via WhatsApp, Aruoma said recent reforms under Governor Alex Otti had begun to restore confidence among traders and small business owners, adding that improved governance was creating the conditions needed for sustainable commerce across the state.
Today, Abia can boast of Electric Buses that ply various parts of the state. Good road network , Industrial clusters for artisans, improved health care.
He noted that traders and SME operators were already benefiting from a more predictable operating climate, citing steps to streamline levies, reduce multiple taxation and improve transparency in the management of markets and commercial spaces. According to him, these measures are particularly important for small and medium sized enterprises, micro enterprises and operators within the informal economy who form the backbone of Abia’s trading ecosystem.
Aruoma said the administration’s emphasis on security and order had helped to stabilise major trading hubs in Aba and Umuahia, encouraging local entrepreneurs to expand while signalling to diaspora investors that their capital and assets would be better protected. He added that confidence is returning to markets that had previously struggled under uncertainty.
He further highlighted the government’s focus on infrastructure and urban renewal, including roads linking industrial clusters, power initiatives and sanitation reforms, which he said are gradually reducing the cost of doing business. These interventions, he argued, are critical for attracting returnee investors with skills, networks and capital gained abroad.
The TAN leader stressed that Abia’s large diaspora community has a strategic role to play beyond capital inflows, urging professionals overseas to bring back technology, managerial expertise and global market access that can scale local enterprises and boost exports, especially in manufacturing, leatherworks, garments and agro processing.
Aruoma called for sustained engagement between government and the private sector to consolidate the gains, adding that consistent policies and inclusive dialogue would help Abia position itself as a competitive destination for trade and investment within Nigeria and the wider West African subregion. There’s no where like home. Make Abia State a habitable home.
