Abia PDP's Anosike pledges solar-powered machine hub, interest-free loans for Aba artisans

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Abia State, Dr Kelechi Anosike, has told leather and garment workers in Aba that he will build a solar-powered centre where they can use modern machines without buying their own.

He made the promise while meeting representatives of the Aba Leather and Garment Clusters during a campaign stop in the commercial city. The association says it has more than 200,000 members.

Under the plan, tailors, shoemakers and garment makers would bring their materials to the centre, pay a fee to use the equipment and keep the money from the jobs they complete. Anosike said the idea borrows from a shared-equipment scheme run in Abuja by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the federal agency for small businesses.

He recalled that a similar facility set up in Aba in 2008 by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) with the federal and state governments was later vandalised and left to rot. He said his government would bring the idea back in a form that can last.

Loans and taxes

Anosike also promised a Traders Microfinance Bank that would give interest-free loans and grants to traders, artisans and cooperative groups. He argued that many goods Nigeria imports in large amounts could be made at home, and that backing small businesses would create jobs and cut the pressure on foreign exchange.

He described his approach as “productive welfarism”, saying: “I'm a welfarist and the welfarism is not to give you handouts, it's to empower you to support the state.”

His campaign slogan, “Aruo Uzo, Aruo Afo”, which he translates as building roads and building people, sums up his view that infrastructure should go hand in hand with residents' economic well-being, he said.

The candidate also promised to scrap taxes he said weigh heavily on low-income earners and small businesses. He questioned whether residents have felt any benefit from the rise in Abia's monthly federal allocation, which he put at about ₦3.5bn before and ₦40bn now.

Ken Anyanwu, national secretary of the clusters and a cooperative president, said the group came to discuss how to lift members' businesses to international standards. He said Aba's leather and garment products rank among Africa's best, but that successive state governments have not given artisans the support they need.

Anyanwu said small and medium enterprises are central to economic growth and welcomed Anosike's proposals.

Party chieftains at the meeting included Abia PDP Deputy Chairman and Abia South senatorial candidate Chinyere Onuoha, Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency candidate Bob Ajuzieogu, Aba Central House of Assembly candidate Anastasia Uchenna and Daniel Ajunwa. They asked residents to back the PDP in the coming elections.

What happens next

The governorship election is expected in 2027. For now the pledges remain campaign promises; artisans in Aba will have to wait for the vote and, if Anosike wins, for the plans to be funded and built.