Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has approved the recruitment of 771 health workers, including doctors and other professionals, to strengthen services at Primary Health Centres across the state.
The state government also expressed concern over the attitude of some pregnant women who still rely on traditional birth attendants for delivery instead of using government hospitals.
Speaking over the weekend, Governor Otti announced that the state would also provide staff quarters for health workers to make their work easier.
He revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will visit Abia on October 3 to commission several projects, including Ohanku, Ndoki, and Pepples roads, as well as the newly reconstructed Port Harcourt Road, which had been abandoned for more than 20 years.
Otti further disclosed that the state will soon take delivery of 19 electric buses from the Coscharis Group, while more buses are expected by January next year.
The governor also said that Abia is working to become one of the leading rice producers in the Southeast. He added that the state is close to completing the construction of 20 smart schools and is preparing to recruit 4,000 new teachers for its schools.
On education, Otti announced that Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, has regained accreditation for 33 courses that were lost under past administrations. He added that the state will soon begin reconstruction of the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Highway, and work will resume on the long-abandoned Five Star Enyimba Hotel, which has been left for nearly 30 years.
Meanwhile, the governor, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, warned women against relying on traditional birth attendants. He said many women had lost their lives due to complications that could not be properly managed by such attendants.
Otti stressed that his administration is committed to protecting the lives of mothers and children, which is why it has started retrofitting 200 Primary Health Centres across all wards in the state.
