— Shops for new VC for ABSU
By Steve Oko
UMUAHIA — Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has assured the next-of-kin of deceased pensioners that his administration will pay benefits due to their late relatives as the state begins clearing more than N60 billion in outstanding gratuity liabilities.
Otti gave the assurance on Thursday during his monthly media chat, “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians,” held at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia.
Responding to questions on pension matters, the governor said provisions had been made to address the entitlements of deceased pensioners, assuring their families that his administration was committed to settling the outstanding obligations.
He said the government had recently completed payment of outstanding gratuities to retired workers who left the state service between 2001 and 2010.
According to him, attention would now shift to retirees from 2011 to date, subject to available resources.
“We are getting ready to deal with the remaining years from 2011 all the way to the present, based on available resources. So we are taking them gradually.
“Like I had reported earlier, we found that outstanding gratuities were over N60 billion. And we are undertaking to clear those gratuities gradually,” Otti said.
The governor said his administration was also putting structures in place to permanently address pension-related challenges in the state.
He disclosed that the state had recently introduced a contributory pension scheme covering more than 36,000 workers.
“Just last month, we rolled out a contributory pension scheme for over 36,000 workers in the state.
“So what that means is that the issue of pensions and even gratuity will become seamless, since the contributory pension scheme is such that between the worker and the employer, some funds are set aside on a monthly basis to take care of the pension and gratuity,” he said.
Otti to appoint new ABSU VC
The governor also announced that a new substantive Vice-Chancellor would assume office at Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU), on November 1, 2026.
He said the process for appointing a successor had commenced ahead of the expiration of the tenure of the institution’s Acting Vice-Chancellor at the end of October.
According to him, advertisements for the position had been published and the recruitment process was underway.
“In Abia State University, the process for leadership transition has started, given that the Acting Vice Chancellor, I believe his tenure expires end of October.
“So from first November, a substantive and new Vice Chancellor would take over. And because of that, I think the advertisements have gone out, and the recruitment process has started,” Otti said.
Otti also disclosed that his administration was undertaking major infrastructure upgrades across tertiary institutions in the state.
On basic education, he said the government had engaged an additional 4,074 teachers to address manpower shortages in public schools, following the earlier recruitment of 5,394 teachers.
He said the recruitment was targeted at locations and subject areas where teachers were most needed.
“We are intentional in this recruitment, that we are targeted at locations and then in the different disciplines where they are required.
“So the deployment is happening as we speak. We have also engaged in massive infrastructure upgrade of the tertiary institutions,” the governor said.
Otti further disclosed that the administration was reconstituting the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) to oversee the management of secondary education across the state.
Meanwhile, the governor announced that the state’s Citizens’ Engagement Centre would soon be officially opened to provide residents with a platform to directly engage the government, ask questions, make observations and contribute ideas on public policies.
He said a dedicated helpline, 0800-0000232, and an email address, contactcenter@abiastate.gov.ng, had been provided for communication with the centre.
On healthcare, Otti reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to providing quality and affordable healthcare services to residents.
He said Abia was recently rated first in healthcare affordability and third in healthcare quality in the 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index in Nigeria.
The governor said the administration would sustain reforms aimed at improving healthcare delivery and advancing people-centred policies across the state.
The Secretary to the State Government, Dr Emmanuel Meribole; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba; Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, and other members of the State Executive Council attended the media chat.
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