Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has underlined his government’s commitment to prioritizing the state’s education and health sectors.
During a meeting with the Board of Trustees of Lux Mundi University in Umuahia, President Otti stated that his government aimed to address the core causes of difficulties in education and health.
The group was led by Prof. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, the alternate chair of the Board of Trustees.
The board had informed the governor about a relationship with the Home Health Aid Training Institute in the United States of America (USA).
The board added that 50 of its students will travel to the United States next month for an exchange program with the institute, while also inviting the governor to the school’s second matriculation program, which will take place on July 18, 2025.
Otti praised the positive news and emphasized the importance of education and health in the state.
“For us in the state, the major issues you raised have been on our agenda since 2023: education and health. “In the last 24 months, we have allocated 15% of our budget to health and 20% to education,” he said.
Governor Otti aimed to address the underlying issues in the education and health sectors.
According to him, “We discovered that the number of out-of-school children was actually increasing.” We examined the entire issue; on Mondays and Tuesdays, we saw school-aged youngsters hawking items such as akara and groundnuts.
“We discovered that many of them were unable to attend school due to school costs.
“We removed school fees at the beginning of this year, making education free and compulsory at the basic level,” the Governor remarked to applause.
The government’s free education program increased school enrollment, causing a shortage of teachers and a need to repair dilapidated schools to improve learning environments.
Of course. “First of all, we tried to make teaching attractive by improving their pay and also making all the total compensation package more attractive than even the Civil Service” , according to him.
The governor went on to say that hiring 5,364 new teachers was insufficient to keep up with the continued increase in enrollment in public schools, and that Abia is currently hiring an additional 4,000 teachers to ensure that every school has adequate, well-trained, and motivated staff.
Summary “The fact that your parents are not rich should not deny you the opportunity to go to school,” he said.
Otti’s administration inherited a dilapidated and understaffed primary healthcare system, with none of the 948 PHCs functioning properly.
He went on: “The first thing we did was to design a minimum standard template for primary Healthcare Centers” .
The governor reported that 138 out of 200 PHCs have been modified, with the other 62 expected to be completed soon.
“We commissioned those that were appropriately equipped. “The last one was in Bende.” Solar electricity is used to power the primary health care centers.
Audi used the occasion to praise the governor for welcoming them, stating that his performance in Abia State is unrivaled.
