Gov. Otti Rolls Out Citizen Contact Center, Pays Gratuity Arrears, Deploys 4,074 Teachers In August Media Chat  

“Our People Remain The Centerpiece” — Governor Gives Updates On Health, Education, Youth Jobs

UMUAHIA, Abia State – Governor Alex Otti has announced new interventions in healthcare, education, workers’ welfare and citizen engagement as part of activities marking the 35th Anniversary of Abia State.

The Governor disclosed this during the *August edition of his Monthly Media Chat, “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians” held in Umuahia.

Otti said government has opened the Citizen Independence Center, a technology-driven contact center designed to improve communication between government and residents.

“That center is supposed to be a contact center where you can ask questions, raise observations, and make inputs into what happens in the state,” he said.

He added that a helpline has been installed and an email address contactcenter.abia.gov.ng configured to receive complaints and feedback. Full details will be released at the official launch.

The Governor said government has completed payment of outstanding gratuity for retirees from 2001 to 2010 and is preparing to clear arrears from 2011 to date based on available resources. He noted that total outstanding gratuity was over N60 billion.

“We are taking them gradually. Most of them are now very old, vulnerable people, and some of them were not expecting the money. So it has come in handy,” he said.

He also announced the rollout of the Contributory Pension Scheme for over 36,000 workers to make pension and gratuity payments seamless.

On healthcare support, Otti said the state spent well over N500 million this month alone assisting the sick, elderly and vulnerable, including those undergoing kidney transplants and treatment for terminal diseases.

The government also supported some Abia indigenes who returned from South Africa and is working with relevant agencies to facilitate the safe return of others still trapped there.

In education, the Governor said 4,074 new teachers have been engaged to fill gaps after the earlier recruitment of 5,394 teachers. They are currently being onboarded and will undergo training before deployment to areas of need.

He said government is also undertaking massive infrastructural upgrade in tertiary institutions including ABSU, ABSUTH, Abia Polytechnic, and Abia College of Education Technical. The upgrades cover fences, libraries, faculty buildings and hostels.

On salaries, Otti said the new salary structure for teachers is being implemented.

“Some of the teachers may not receive their pay between today and tomorrow, but everything about pay will be completed by this weekend,” he assured.

He further announced that the process for appointing a substantive Vice-Chancellor for ABSU has started, with the new VC expected to take over on November 1 when the tenure of the acting VC expires.

The Governor said Obingwa Memorial Hospital, Umunneochi — an 80-bed facility digitally linked to surrounding PHCs — was commissioned recently. The hospital is equipped with telehealth technology, renewable energy, clean water and an eye center.

He cited the 2026 Philips Consulting State Performance Index which ranked Abia No. 1 in healthcare affordability and No. 3 in healthcare quality among 36 states.

Government has also approved recruitment of additional 1,000 healthcare professionals to join the 821 earlier approved.

Of the 277 Primary Healthcare Centres* in the state, 151 have been functionalized, with 49 more being completed. Another 77 were refitted by WHO. All are expected to be functional before year end.

Enrollment in the state health insurance scheme has risen to about 270,000 from 40,000 previously.

On youth development, Otti said 1,086 young people will graduate from the Abia State Leadership Academy this month, while 850 will graduate from the digital training programme.

“In the last 18 months, we have 2,200 job-ready graduates. A lot of them are already getting engaged,” he said.

The Director-General of NYSC also visited the state within the month, he added.

Governor Otti said anniversary activities began Sunday with a thanksgiving service and ended with an anniversary lecture delivered by Chief Osita Chidoka and a virtual address by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

“Everything went well,” he said.