From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ebonyi State in next year’s general election, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, has said he plans to attract trillions of naira in private investment to the state within six months if elected.
Odii pledged on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show, where he outlined plans to leverage his business network, improve the investment climate and unlock Ebonyi’s economic potential.
The businessman said he was confident of attracting about ₦2 trillion in investments, citing his relationships with entrepreneurs and investors, as well as opportunities in solid minerals, real estate, manufacturing, hospitality and other sectors.
According to him, his strategy would focus on creating policies and an enabling business environment that would encourage investors to establish businesses in Ebonyi and generate economic opportunities for residents.
“I have a very large network of people, friends. Some of them are businessmen, they’re entrepreneurs,” Odii said.
He added that he had more than 2,000 business contacts, many of whom could be encouraged to invest in the state if the right conditions were created.
Explaining his approach, Odii said investors were primarily interested in returns on their investments and that his administration would introduce policies to make Ebonyi attractive to businesses.
“I’ll come up with policies. I’ll create an enabling environment that will make these people come in and put their money because they want to make a profit,” he said.
Odii argued that Ebonyi had significant but underutilised economic potential, particularly in solid minerals, which he described as one of the state’s major investment opportunities.
He said the state could also attract real estate developers and manufacturing companies, including investors who had made profits in Lagos and other commercial centres and might be willing to expand into Ebonyi.
The PDP candidate identified industrial development, hospitality and other commercial activities as additional areas that could benefit from increased private-sector investment.
During the interview, the presenter questioned how Odii would deliver on his ₦2 trillion investment pledge within six months and asked him to demonstrate a track record of attracting investments on that scale.
In response, Odii pointed to his more than two decades in business and his experience operating companies involved in manufacturing raw materials, chemical trading, construction and real estate.
He identified himself as chairman and chief executive officer of Orient Global Group, which he said operates in manufacturing, processing and the trading of industrial and oil-and-gas chemicals.
He also mentioned Optimus Holdings, which he said was involved in construction, real estate and related businesses.
Odii said he started as a small trader before expanding his business activities and building relationships with multinational companies.
He maintained that his private-sector experience would help him understand investors’ needs and develop policies that could attract capital to Ebonyi.
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