Gov. Alex Otti of Abia has directed the immediate remediation of erosion and flooding sites reported across the state.
Otti gave the directive on Thursday night during a monthly media chat with journalists in Umuahia.
“A lot of incidents of erosion and flooding have been reported in different parts of the state; I think there are 15 reports in recent times.
“We have already instructed the Commissioner for Environment to engage and ensure remediation as quickly as possible,” he said.
On healthcare, Otti said Abia ranked first in healthcare affordability and third in healthcare quality among the 36 states in the 2026 Philips Consulting State Performance Index.
He said the state had also commenced the recruitment of an additional 1,000 healthcare professionals, in addition to the 821 earlier approved.
According to him, the recruitment became necessary because of the poaching of Nigerian healthcare professionals by other countries.
“You have Canada, India, the US, UK and other parts of the world competing in the same space with us.
“So, sometimes you hire some people today, tomorrow they move to other countries. So, you must keep your hiring process open,” he said.
The governor said the recently inaugurated Chima Ubani Memorial Hospital in Mgboko, formerly Obingwa General Hospital, was an 80-bed facility digitally linked to surrounding primary healthcare centres.
He said the hospital was equipped with tele-health technology, modern medical equipment, renewable energy and water supply infrastructure.
Otti said the facility also has an eye centre, adding that the objective was to ensure it provides all the services expected in a secondary healthcare facility.
He said 151 of the 200 primary healthcare centres renovated and retrofitted by the state government had been functionalised, leaving 49 to be completed.
The governor added that 77 other primary healthcare centres had been retrofitted and rebuilt through the World Bank, bringing the total number to 277.
He expressed optimism that all the centres would be functionalised before the end of the year.
Otti also said about 270,000 Abia residents had enrolled in the state health insurance scheme, compared to about 40,000 previously.
“In Abia State University, the process for leadership transition has started, given that the tenure of the Acting Vice-Chancellor will expire at the end of October.
“So, from Nov. 1, a substantive and new Vice-Chancellor will take over the university,” he said.
Otti said the recruitment process commenced following the publication of advertisements for the position.
He also said government had embarked on massive infrastructure upgrades in its tertiary institutions, including Abia State University, Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, and Abia State College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu.
According to him, the projects include upgrades of the libraries, faculty buildings, hostels and fencing.
The governor said staff welfare remained a priority, adding that new salary structures had been implemented in some institutions while others were undergoing implementation.
He said the implementation of the new salary structure could cause a one- or two-day delay in the payment of some workers’ salaries.
“Everything about pay will be completed by this weekend, and I have given that instruction,” he said.
Otti said the state government had successfully engaged 4,074 additional teachers to fill gaps identified after the recruitment of 5,394 teachers.
He said the new teachers were being employed and would undergo training before deployment to their places of engagement.
The governor said the recruitment was targeted at specific locations and subjects where there were shortages.
On social protection, Otti said the government had spent more than N500 million in August supporting vulnerable residents and footing their hospital bills for kidney and other organ transplants.
He said his administration had also completed payment of outstanding gratuities to retirees from 2001 to 2010 and was preparing to address the remaining years based on available resources.
Otti said the outstanding gratuity liability inherited by the administration was more than N60 billion.
He also said the state had rolled out the Contributory Pension Scheme for more than 36,000 workers, describing it as a mechanism that would make pension and gratuity payments seamless.
On youth empowerment, the governor said 850 TechRise graduates had been added to the 1,200 previously trained, bringing the number of graduates to about 2,200 within 18 months.
He said the latest batch of graduates had produced a drone and other inventions, adding that he had directed the Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation to explore commercialisation of their products.
Otti said 1,086 young people would also graduate from the Abia State Leadership Academy this Saturday.
On land administration, the governor said Abia had issued more than 965 digital Certificates of Occupancy within three years, while more than five million land records had been digitised.
He said applicants could obtain their Certificates of Occupancy within 30 days through the Ministry of Lands.
On transport, Otti said work at the Aba Bus Terminal was being intensified, with plans to inaugurate the facility before the end of the year.
He said 20 electric buses had already been deployed, while 30 additional buses were expected after the state made the required advance payment.
The governor also said the state government continued deploying renewable energy solutions in different parts of Abia.
On heritage development, Otti said government received officials of the National Park Commission and directed relevant authorities to work with them toward establishing a national park in the state.
He, however, said the Abia Government had taken note of objections raised by informed Abia residents concerning the proposal.
“One thing you can rest assured of is that whatever we do will be in the best interest of the state,” Otti said.
