Otti Announces Date for Port Harcourt Road Project Commissioning

Governor Alex Otti announced that the Port Harcourt Road in Aba will be completed by next week and will be officially commissioned by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2025, as the President has expressed interest in attending the ceremony.

During the monthly media chat titled “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians,” held at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Umuahia on Wednesday, the Governor stated that the Ministry of Works would take over the project from Julius Berger, as they are in the final stages of marking the road.

Governor Otti emphasized that no kobo of Abia State’s funds will be wasted. He highlighted that the current administration inherited a debt profile of N138 billion as of December 2023, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO), which has now been reduced to N66 billion through prudent financial management.

Regarding healthcare, the Governor mentioned that the 200 primary healthcare initiatives launched under Project Ekwueme are at various stages of completion. He assured that every corner of the state will benefit from the new developments and that the goal is to provide accessible healthcare throughout the state. Hospitals are receiving significant attention, and he noted, “We have a standard that we must maintain, and we will push to achieve that. We need to recruit an additional 707 staff to ensure that Abians receive the quality healthcare we aim to provide.”

Concerning education, the Governor reported a surge in enrollment in primary schools due to the implementation of compulsory free education. In response to this increase, 5,000 teachers have already been recruited, with an additional 4,000 teachers recently approved, bringing the total to 9,000 teachers in the state. An educational reform team has been in place for over a year, training teachers in batches. Each trained teacher will then return to train their colleagues. The quality and standards of education have improved, particularly in the areas of science, mathematics, and technology. “We want to ensure that our children are equipped to face the challenges of artificial intelligence,” the Governor stated.

He also announced that the State Government is building a 5,000-bed hostel at Abia State University Uturu and a new Law and Agriculture Faculty in the State University.