{"id":4382,"date":"2026-09-19T08:36:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T08:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4382"},"modified":"2026-09-19T08:36:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T08:36:20","slug":"british-envoy-visits-abia-to-deepen-digital-transformation-economic-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=4382","title":{"rendered":"British envoy visits Abia to deepen digital transformation, economic partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

*The UK Mission in Nigeria discloses British Deputy High Commissioner Jonny Baxter’s recent visit to Abia State has reaffirmed the country’s commitment to deepening its partnership with the state government, and supporting efforts at creating the conditions for inclusive growth, investment, job creation and digital transformation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n

Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner, in Lagos, has concluded a two-day visit to Abia State, South-East Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Baxter highlighted the growing reputation of Abia as a hub for entrepreneurship, innovation and economic opportunity in the country.<\/p>\n

The UK Mission in Nigeria, in a statement, said the British Deputy High Commissioner’s visit reaffirmed the country’s commitment to deepening its partnership with Abia State, and supporting efforts at creating the conditions for inclusive growth, investment, job creation and digital transformation.<\/p>\n

Ndidiamaka Eze, Senior Press and Public Affairs Officer, Communications Lead, Growth, Trade and Investment, Nigeria Network stated Baxter’s visit included a meeting with Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, engagements with civil society and electoral stakeholders, a tour of the Geometric Power Plant.<\/p>\n

His visit also afforded him an opportunity to participate in the State-Level Policy, Regulatory and Institutional Reforms Enabling Digital Transformation (SPRIRET) programme under the UK’s Digital Access Programme.<\/p>\n

The programme attracted public and private sector actors to strengthen the policy, regulatory and institutional foundations required for inclusive digital transformation in Abia.<\/p>\n

The statement further noted that discussions with Governor Otti covered opportunities to expand UK-Abia cooperation across trade, investment, innovation, education, energy and digital development.<\/p>\n

They addressed democratic governance, preparations for forthcoming 2027 General Elections and the importance of a peaceful and inclusive political environment.<\/p>\n

Speaking on his visit. Baxter said” British Deputy High Commissioner in Lags said: \u201cAbia is one of Nigeria’s most entrepreneurial states, and that energy is now being matched by a positive policy environment.<\/p>\n

Throughout this visit, I have been struck not only by the ambition, innovation and determination I have encountered, but by the deliberate steps the Governor has taken to create the conditions for that ambition to thrive.<\/p>\n

The British envoy also stated: \u201cThe same is true in the digital space.<\/p>\n

“Digital transformation depends on getting the policy and regulatory environment right, and we are responding to Abia State’s demonstrated desire to do exactly that.”<\/p>\n

He averred: “The United Kingdom is proud to support Abia’s digital transformation through our Digital Access Programme and the SPRIRET initiative.<\/p>\n

ConsumerConnect reports the British Deputy High Commission, in Lagos, revealed SPRIRET is funded through the UK\u2019s Digital Access Programme, and it is being implemented in five Nigerian states, including Abia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to deepening our partnership with the Government and people of Abia State and building on the strong foundations of the UK-Nigeria strategic partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his remarks during the visit, Governor Otti thanked the British Deputy High Commissioner and his team for visiting Abia.<\/p>\n

The governor assured the British Deputy High Commissioner that Abia State is open to partnerships capable of strengthening its economic development<\/p>\n

He equally expressed optimism that the engagement would lead to stronger government-to-government and business-to-business partnerships that would support Abia\u2019s economic transformation.<\/p>\n

The statement further noted Otti particularly welcomed Baxter\u2019s visit to the Geometric Power Plant.<\/p>\n

The governor described electricity as central to the success of Abia\u2019s manufacturing and business community.<\/p>\n

The UK Mission as well emphasised Governor Otti said his administration is working to expand reliable electricity supply across the state.<\/p>\n

The cost of unreliable power is ultimately, higher for businesses because of dependence on generators, diesel and maintenancey stated he.<\/p>\n

Otti said: \u201cOnce you have reliable power, whatever the cost is, it is still going to be cheaper than not having reliable power.”<\/p>\n

He disclosed Abia State is also working to expand power supply beyond Aba, including efforts to secure the necessary rights to enable Abia to operate as an integrated power market, leveraging the infrastructure already available at Geometric Power.<\/p>\n

Governor Otti noted that Aba has a strong manufacturing base, particularly in footwear, garments and other locally produced goods, and said the State Government is working with partners, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to improve finishing, packaging and export opportunities for locally made products, the statement noted.<\/p>\n

The governor, therefore, assured the delegation of the Abia State Government\u2019s participation in the Digital Access Programme engagement scheduled for Thursday.<\/p>\n

The State Government, he stated, will continue working with the UK team to identify practical areas of collaboration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*The UK Mission in Nigeria discloses British Deputy High Commissioner Jonny Baxter’s recent visit to Abia State has reaffirmed the country’s commitment to deepening its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, and Members of the UK Delegation with Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, During the Envoy's 2-day Visit to the South-East State\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Photo: FCDO\/BHC Lagos","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"default","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-infoeducation","category-regulators"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/British-High-Commissioner-Visit-to-Abia.jpg",880,499,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/British-High-Commissioner-Visit-to-Abia-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/British-High-Commissioner-Visit-to-Abia-300x170.jpg",300,170,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/British-High-Commissioner-Visit-to-Abia-768x435.jpg",768,435,true],"large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/British-High-Commissioner-Visit-to-Abia.jpg",843,478,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/British-High-Commissioner-Visit-to-Abia.jpg",880,499,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/British-High-Commissioner-Visit-to-Abia.jpg",880,499,false]},"author_info":{"info":["ConsumerConnect"]},"category_info":"Highlights<\/a> InfoEducation<\/a> Regulators<\/a>","tag_info":"Regulators","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4385,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4382\/revisions\/4385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}