Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has approved automatic employment into the Abia State Civil Service for the 19 best-performing graduates of Cohort 3 of the Abia TechRise Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills development programme.
Governor Otti made the announcement on Thursday, August 21, 2026, during the graduation ceremony of 850 young people who completed the third cohort of the technology training programme at the JAAC Secretariat in Umuahia.
Beyond the employment opportunity, the Governor announced a cash gift of N100,000 for each of the 850 graduands. He also directed that the laptops provided for the training be handed over to the beneficiaries as their personal property.
The Governor said the employment of the 19 top-performing participants was designed to retain outstanding talents produced through TechRise and deploy their expertise toward strengthening public service delivery across the state.
According to him, retaining the best talents from every cohort would enable the government to benefit directly from the skills developed through the programme while creating meaningful career opportunities for young people.
Governor Otti also directed the Head of Service, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and the State Chief Information Officer to identify ICT-related gaps across government institutions and determine where TechRise graduates could be deployed.
He further directed the development of a special salary structure for ICT professionals within the state civil service, subject to existing regulations and applicable conditions.
Addressing the graduands, Governor Otti urged them to embrace continuous learning, stressing that the knowledge and practical skills acquired through the programme represented the most important benefits of their training.
He encouraged the youths to transform their skills into businesses, innovations and solutions capable of creating value and employment, while warning against using technology for criminal activities.
The Governor also praised a team of graduands that developed a functional drone during the programme. He directed the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to collaborate with the innovators and explore opportunities to transform the project from a training achievement into a commercially viable technology solution.
As part of efforts to strengthen the state’s digital ecosystem, Governor Otti disclosed plans to establish international-standard ICT examination and certification centres in Abia. The initiative, he explained, would allow residents to obtain globally recognised professional certifications without travelling outside the state.
He also said his administration was collaborating with MTN to expand internet access across Abia, with the objective of improving digital connectivity in communities throughout the state.
The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, said the TechRise programme had produced 2,210 digitally skilled youths across its three cohorts over the past one and a half years.
He explained that the beneficiaries were drawn from Abia and other parts of Nigeria, describing the three-month, 100-percent cost-free programme as an important investment in youth empowerment and digital development.
Nwachukwu noted that the latest graduates had spent three months acquiring practical knowledge, solving technology-related problems and developing solutions from concepts into functional applications.
Speaking on behalf of the 17 local government mayors, the Mayor of Umuahia South Local Government Area, Hon. Engr. Chinedu Enwereuzo, described the Governor’s policies and youth-focused programmes as deliberate and purposeful. He urged the graduands to apply their newly acquired knowledge toward building better futures.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Lady Oge Maduka, commended Governor Otti for prioritising human capital development and investing in the future of young people in Abia.
She said the practical ICT training had equipped participants with skills capable of opening opportunities in employment, entrepreneurship and the global digital economy.
The Chief Executive Officer of LearnFactory and TechRise Coordinator, Engr. Chibueze Ukaegbu, disclosed that the initiative had also trained 2,500 civil servants in computer skills, with plans to increase the figure to 5,000.
Ukaegbu further revealed that TechRise had developed coding books that would be distributed to smart schools, with 500 copies expected to be donated as part of efforts to strengthen technology education.
He also proposed the introduction of coding education in primary and secondary schools, as well as the creation of an “Abia One Stop Platform” aimed at providing digital services and supporting the state government’s development agenda.
Responding on behalf of the graduands, Mr. Onuoha Victor Chinedu expressed appreciation to Governor Otti for providing the opportunity to acquire technology skills. He said the programme had increased the participants’ confidence and prepared them to approach the future with greater optimism.
The ceremony was attended by several government officials and local government mayors, including the Mayors of Umuahia North, Aba North, Osisioma and Bende, among other senior officials.
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The latest TechRise initiative underscores the Abia State Government’s growing emphasis on digital skills, youth empowerment, technology-driven public service and human capital development as key components of its development agenda.
