Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has explained why his administration established the Citizens Engagement Centre (CEC), saying the platform was created to enable residents to interact directly with the government, ask questions, make observations and contribute ideas on government policies.

Otti spoke on Thursday night during his monthly media chat for August 2026, which coincided with the 35th anniversary of the creation of Abia State on August 27, 1991, by the Federal Military Government under the then Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida.

The governor said his administration had also provided a dedicated helpline, 0800-0000232, and an email address, [email protected], to facilitate direct communication between residents and the centre.

On pensions and gratuities, Otti said his administration was putting structures in place to permanently address the challenges associated with pension payments in the state.

“Just last month, we rolled out a contributory pension scheme for over 36,000 workers in the state. This implies that the issue of pensions and even gratuity will become seamless under the contributory pension scheme, where funds are set aside monthly by the worker and the employer to take care of pension and gratuity,” he said.

Reacting to other pension and gratuity-related issues, the governor said provisions had been made for the payment of pensions due to the next of kin of deceased pensioners, assuring that his administration remained committed to doing the needful.

He also disclosed that the government had recently commenced and completed the payment of outstanding gratuities to senior citizens who retired between 2001 and 2010.

“We are now getting ready to deal with the remaining years from 2011 to cover others, based, however, on the availability of resources. Hence, we are taking them gradually,” Otti said.

According to him, the outstanding gratuities inherited by his administration exceeded N60 billion, adding that the government was committed to clearing the arrears gradually.

On Abia State University, Uturu, Otti said the process for appointing a substantive Vice Chancellor had commenced ahead of the expiration of the tenure of the Acting Vice Chancellor on October 31, 2026. He said the new substantive Vice Chancellor was expected to assume office on November 1, 2026.

Giving an update on the education sector, the governor announced the reconstitution of the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) to oversee matters relating to secondary education across the state.

He also disclosed that 4,074 new teachers had been employed to fill identified vacancies and staffing gaps after the recruitment of 5,394 teachers earlier.

Otti said the recruitment was deliberate and targeted at areas and teaching disciplines where teachers were needed, adding that their deployment to schools was ongoing.

He further disclosed that the government was undertaking massive infrastructure upgrades at tertiary institutions across the state.

On healthcare, Otti reaffirmed his administration’s focus on providing quality and affordable services, stating that Abia was recently rated first in healthcare affordability and third in healthcare quality in the 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index in Nigeria.

The governor assured residents that his administration would continue to drive reforms aimed at improving healthcare delivery and implementing people-centred policies and programmes designed to improve the quality of life of Abians while promoting transparency, accountability and sustainable development across the state.