Abia State Governor Alex Otti has charged 1,086 graduates of the Abia State Leadership Academy Youth Boot Camp to embrace selfless service, innovation and excellence and become active co-drivers of his administration’s New Abia project.
Otti gave the charge at the weekend during the graduation ceremony of the 2026 Youth Leadership Boot Camp at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia.

The academy, headed by its President, Professor Kenneth Kalu, collaborates with the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.
Speaking on the theme, “The Leadership Vocation,” Otti congratulated the graduates and told them that they were not returning to their communities as ordinary citizens but as active participants in the New Abia project.

The governor said the programme was designed to inspire the participants to pursue meaningful impact, while commending the quality and transparency of the selection and training process.
“Today, we can see evidence that, in line with our philosophy of merit, only the best performers were chosen to be part of this class,” he said.

Otti commended Kalu and his team, as well as the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University, led by its Director, Dr Nneka Okekaru, for their commitment to the successful delivery of the four-week programme.
He also appreciated the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, the management of Government College Umuahia and the Nigerian Naval College of Accounts and Finance, Owerrinta, for their partnership and support, as well as the parents of the trainees for entrusting their children to the government for the programme.

Noting that about 10 per cent of the participants were young people from outside Abia who reside in different parts of the country, Otti described their inclusion as evidence of his administration’s non-discrimination policy.
He cited the performance of one of the graduates, Rosely Farida Abdusalam, who lives in Aba with her parents, as an example of the policy that “if you live in Abia, you are from Abia.”

The governor reminded the graduates that their graduation marked the beginning of greater responsibility rather than the end of their leadership journey.
“You are not going home as regular people anymore. You now belong to a special community of young minds with a responsibility to act with distinction and carry the light of excellence into your communities, schools, and wherever the future takes you,” he said.

He urged them to establish mentoring clusters, share the knowledge acquired at the academy and mobilise their peers to become active partners in building the New Abia.
The Chairman of the Abia State Civil Service Commission, Pastor Dr Eno Jerry Eze, said the academy had graduated 1,086 young people from the 2026 Youth Leadership Boot Camp and urged them to become transformational leaders, innovators and change-makers who would contribute meaningfully to the development of the state and the country.

Eze said the graduates were selected from more than 7,000 applicants, describing their selection as a testament to their potential and commitment to leadership.
She said the boot camp theme, “Raising Transformational Leaders, Innovators and Change-Makers,” reflected the vision of the Otti administration to invest not only in physical infrastructure but also in the state’s young people.

According to her, the programme challenged participants to lead with integrity, think creatively, develop solutions to problems around them and take responsibility rather than wait for others to act.
She added that faculty members went beyond conventional lectures by exposing participants to real-life scenarios and encouraging them to think critically, appreciate diverse perspectives and develop practical solutions.

Earlier, Kalu commended Otti for establishing the academy, saying the governor had demonstrated that leadership development should receive attention alongside visible infrastructure such as roads, buildings and hospitals.
“We therefore commend the governor for planting a forest of leadership whose shade will shelter Abia State for generations,” Kalu said.