Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has announced that a new substantive Vice-Chancellor will assume office at Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU), from November 2026.
Governor Otti disclosed this on Thursday, August 27, 2026, during his monthly media interaction, “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians,” held at the Michael Okpara Auditorium in Umuahia.
The governor explained that the process of selecting a substantive Vice-Chancellor had already commenced because the tenure of the institution’s current Acting Vice-Chancellor is expected to end in October.
According to Otti, advertisements for the position have been published and the recruitment process is currently underway.
“In Abia State University, the process for leadership transition has started, given that the acting vice-chancellor, I believe his tenure expires end of October.
“So from first November, a substantive and new vice-chancellor would take over. And because of that, I think the advertisements have gone out, and the recruitment process has started,” the governor said.
Otti Assures Families of Deceased Pensioners
The governor also addressed concerns surrounding pension payments and outstanding gratuities, assuring the next of kin of deceased pensioners that arrangements have been made to ensure eligible benefits are paid.
He said the state government recently began settling outstanding gratuities owed to senior citizens who retired between 2001 and 2010, adding that the payments for that category had been completed.
Otti explained that attention would now shift to pensioners whose retirement dates fall from 2011 onward, subject to the resources available to the state.
“We are getting ready to deal with the remaining years from 2011 all the way to the present, based on available resources. So we are taking them gradually,” he stated.
The governor disclosed that the inherited gratuity liability was initially estimated at more than N60 billion, stressing that his administration had adopted a gradual approach to clearing the outstanding obligations.
“We found that outstanding gratuities were over 60 billion. And we are undertaking to clear those gratuities gradually,” Otti said.
He further stated that his administration was putting long-term mechanisms in place to prevent the pension crisis from recurring.
According to him, the state government recently introduced a contributory pension scheme covering more than 36,000 workers. The scheme is expected to ensure that both employers and employees make regular contributions towards future pension and gratuity obligations.
Otti said the arrangement would make pension and gratuity payments more sustainable and reduce the accumulation of arrears in the future.
Abia Sets Up Citizens’ Engagement Centre
Governor Otti also announced plans for the official opening of the Abia State Citizens’ Engagement Centre, designed to strengthen communication between the government and residents.
He said the centre would provide members of the public with an avenue to ask questions, raise concerns, make observations and submit suggestions on government policies and programmes.
Residents will also be able to contact the centre through a dedicated helpline, 0800-0000232, and the email address contactcenter@abiastate.gov.ng.
Government Reconstitutes SEMB, Recruits More Teachers
On education, Governor Otti disclosed that the state government was reconstituting the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) to improve the administration and coordination of secondary education across Abia.
He also announced that 4,074 additional teachers had been recruited following an earlier recruitment exercise that brought in 5,394 teachers.
The governor explained that the recruitment was targeted at addressing specific staffing shortages across different locations and academic disciplines.
“We are intentional in this recruitment. We are targeted at locations and then in the different disciplines where they are required,” Otti said, adding that deployment of the newly recruited teachers was already underway.
He further disclosed that the government was undertaking extensive infrastructure improvements across the state’s tertiary institutions.
Abia Government Highlights Healthcare Reforms
Governor Otti also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to improving access to quality and affordable healthcare services for residents.
He noted that Abia was recently ranked first nationally for healthcare affordability and third for healthcare quality in the 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index.
The governor said the administration would continue implementing reforms designed to strengthen healthcare delivery and make essential services more accessible to residents.
Otti reiterated that his government’s broader objective was to implement people-oriented policies while promoting transparency, accountability and sustainable development across Abia State.
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The monthly media interaction was attended by the Secretary to the Abia State Government, Dr. Emmanuel Meribeole; the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba; the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu; and other members of the State Executive Council.
