Abia pledges to harness tourism to shore up IGR

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has pledged his commitment to promote the Abia culture and tourism sector of the economy as one of the sources of generating internal revenue for the state.

Ikpeazu made the pledge while flagging off the maiden edition of the Enyimba Carnival at the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba.

The governor, who spoke through Bonnie Iwuoha, the state commissioner for information and strategy, appreciated the ingenuity of Abians in sustaining their traditional values.

According to him, the carnival is organised to give Aba people and residents proper sense of belonging and new lease of life, and assured all those engaged in commerce and business in the state that conducive environment would be created for their businesses to thrive.

Ikpeazu also urged Abia youths to shun crime and embrace hard work as the only way of having meaningful means of livelihood, and assured them that the right environment would be provided for them to excel.

He also pleaded with the people and the business community to pay their taxes to government to enable it meet its obligations of providing enduring infrastructure.

He commended the carnival committee for organising the event and assured that the preparation for next year’s carnival would be kick- started early enough towards a better outing.

He further assured the people living in the state of adequate security during the yuletide and beyond.

The carnival featured the exhibition of the rich cultural values of the people of the state, with the 17 LGAs participating in the event.