Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has assured Abians that his administration would in delivering dividend of democracy to them, even as he assured that he would be consolidating on the gains his administration has recorded in the state in the last 31 months to further expand what he described as “the system of advantages”.
Otti, in a New Year message broadcast he delivered in the early hours of Thursday (today) titled “Rising To The Opportunities and Challenges of the New Year, assured that despite that the state and country are in a year of various political activities, his administration in the state would not backtrack in their vigour to rewrite the history of the state and once again place on the global map.
Giving further a snippet of the state government’s programme for the state in 2026, Gov. Otti announced that the state would be committing N5billion to manpower training and development, adding that the state was going to set up a dedicated centre for the training and retraining of the staff of various public sector establishments to improve their skill-set and disposition to service.
“In 2026, we shall be committing about N5 billion to manpower training and development because for us, the only guarantee of the sustainability of any public sector reform is the readiness of institutions to effectively interpret and execute their service mandates. In the light of this, I am glad to announce that arrangements have been concluded to set up a dedicated centre for the training and retraining of the staff of various public sector establishments to improve their skill-set and disposition to service. In the New Year, we shall also take steps to redirect the system of deployment in various public institutions; individuals shall only be posted to offices where they are able to function, create value and improve general service performance. The policy of the right persons in the right offices will particularly strengthen the capacity of the administration to deliver results that are connected to the rapid socioeconomic development of the State.”
Gov. Otti who recalled inheriting land racketeering by civil servants in 2023 upon assumption of office, disclosed that his government has prioritised reform of the land administration system to improve the value of our real estate and fast-track the business activities that are tied to structured land tenure system, noted that success of “our C-of-O-in-30-days has streamlined the land acquisition, ownership and transfer processes, boosted the confidence of investors and improved our ease-of-doing business outlook.
“The state is currently automating the land administration framework to drive process transparency and cut out unhealthy practices among . In the New Year, we shall adopt more technology-driven approaches to enable us do more with the limited land resources available to us. Our principal objective is to create value for landlords, investors, mortgage institutions and of course, the next generation of Abians. The projection is that by the time we complete the ongoing land-mapping and digital documentation exercise happening within the geospatial coordinates of Abia, the value of our real estate would rise exponentially, opening up new business frontlines for multiple economic groups.
“From this January, Abians shall begin to see the manifestations of our engagements with federal government institutions and leading private sector players in the real estate sector with respect to expanding housing supply for tens of thousands of families and businesses in the State. We shall not only start new housing projects to accommodate our expanding population especially in the urban centres, we are also going to acquire abandoned housing estate projects that are strategic to the residential needs of our population.”
On his plans for education in 2026, Gov. Otti said, “Part of our priorities for the basic and post-basic education subsector in 2026 is to restore and upgrade our science and technical secondary schools into centres of excellence. So, we are prepared to invest right to make the products of our basic and post-basic education systems competitive and ready for the demands of tertiary education. To this effect, every public school in the State would have the right number of relevant subject teachers, learning tools and an environment that supports effective transmission of knowledge.
“We have also committed 20% of our entire budgetary outlay to the education sector in 2026. Our objective is to consolidate the gains we have made in the last two and half years with respect to repositioning the education sector for relevance in the new age. The goal is to create a mass of solutions-driven individuals whose intellect, skills and high ethical orientation would make the difference in the spaces where they function as career people, change drivers and public servants. Education holds the key to the endless opportunities of the new world and we are prepared to commit whatever it takes to set our children on the right path through the provision of qualitative public education.”
Announcing that the health insurance service which his administration launched in 2025 is already yielding fruits with more than 120, 000 already enrolled in the scheme, Gov. Otti expressed the hope that the 15% of the state’s annual budgetary outlay to meeting the healthcare needs of the people through continuous infrastructure upgrade, provision of medical supplies and superior reward scheme for health workers would improve health services to health in the state.
“The New Year would also see a turnaround in the management of our special agricultural assets especially as we have now taken effective control of the agro-plantations in different communities.
“In the New Year, we shall continue to invest in programmes that enhance the competitive abilities of our youth; offering them the edge they need to function in today’s highly competitive environment. We shall continue to prioritise ICT training and technical skills acquisition programmes, creative talent development, capacity building in agriculture and the practical teaching of the unique set of skills that are required to function in critical industries like housing, power and energy infrastructure.
“As part of our commitment to advancing the welfare of our senior citizens, I am glad to announce that in the New Year, the State Government shall start offsetting accumulated gratuity arrears which dates back to the early 2000s. I have studied and approved the template sent in by the special committee we set up to advise us.
“The framework would see us commit a certain chunk of our quarterly earnings to the payment of gratuities on a structured basis designed to ensure that we are also able to meet the current obligations of the administration, even as we address the neglect of yesteryears.”
Otti, while calling for on citizens and residents of the state to go and get their Permanent Voters Card in the ongoing voter registration exercise said “2026 will be a crucial year for our political development as the country begins preparations for the next round of general elections. In that regard, I would like to encourage our young ones — those who just clocked 18, those who recently relocated to the State and those who lost their PVCs — to take advantage of the ongoing continuous voter registration exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do the needful.
“I appreciate that many of us are disappointed with some of the unfortunate developments in the polity since the beginning of the 4th Republic but then, refusing to participate in the electoral process would not make the situation any better. Our best bet is to get involved, improve our awareness and then organise to drive the change that we seek at all levels.
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“As I announced on the floor of the State House of Assembly in November, our target for the 2026 fiscal year is to fund our recurrent expenditure from internal revenue earnings. We therefore require the generous cooperation of every economic agent in the State to make this happen, confident that whatever is committed to the coffers of the State under our watch shall be applied strictly to development programmes and projects that further add to your capacity to earn.”
