Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has said his administration has delivered the infrastructure and support needed for local economies to thrive, citing more than 130 roads built, digital land administration reforms, energy improvements and large-scale skills training.
Speaking as guest speaker at the Lagos Country Club’s inaugural national policy dialogue, themed “The Future is Local: Stimulating Grassroots Economies for Inclusive Growth,” Uzodimma stressed that rural areas hold 80 per cent of Nigeria’s poor and that sustainable national growth depends on strengthening grassroots economies.
He pointed to the state’s One Kindred, One Business Initiative (OKOBI) as a practical model. Under the scheme, kindreds, social groups or student clubs register and jointly own businesses, receiving training, technical support and access to finance through the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser. Members share profits, and the collective ownership is designed to outlast individual founders. By the end of 2025, more than 600 OKOBI businesses had been registered with nearly 20,000 members across all 27 local government areas. The model has been studied by the London School of Economics, and the Federal Government has approved its nationwide adoption.
Uzodimma linked the approach to the traditional Igbo apprenticeship system (Igba Boi), which for generations has trained young people in a master’s business and later set them up independently, often with capital from the trainer. He argued that government programmes should build on such trusted community institutions rather than create new ones from scratch.
On human capital and jobs, the governor said the Skillup Imo project and wider digital economy programmes have trained more than 65,000 young people in software development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and related fields, with digital skills training available in every local government area. These efforts, he said, have created more than 80,000 jobs and income-earning opportunities. He also noted that Imo pays the highest minimum wage in the country at N104,000, which he described as a direct way to put money into circulation at the grassroots.
Uzodimma attributed improved resources reaching the states partly to federal reforms under President Bola Tinubu, including the removal of petroleum subsidies. He said government must provide basic infrastructure, human capital and power so that private capital can turn those foundations into productive enterprises and jobs.
Club president Seyi Adewunmi opened the event by urging business and public-sector leaders not to remain passive, noting that small businesses account for nearly half of national output and the majority of jobs. Chairman of the occasion Alex Goma welcomed federal policy steps that appear to have stabilised the economy and reduced inflation but said ordinary people have yet to feel the benefits. He called for clearer leadership, working institutions, willing private capital and engaged citizens, and urged governments to move from announcements to measurable delivery at local-government level.
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