Stephanie Clems, Umuahia

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has approved the expansion of the ThriveAbia Digital Capacity Development and Mentorship Programme to accommodate 1,000 young people in its first cohort following the successful training of 100 participants under the pilot phase.

Governor Otti gave the approval on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in his office, while receiving a delegation led by the Director and Co-founder of Tech Excentric, the technical partners for the ThriveAbia programme.

The Governor expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the pilot phase and directed immediate expansion of the programme.

“I am therefore in agreement with the proposal to expand the programme to accommodate 1,000 participants. Indeed, it should be implemented as quickly as possible because time is of the essence. Applicants would apply and sit for the test, after which the results would determine those who proceed to the next stage,” Governor Otti said.

The State Chief Executive congratulated the team on the successful training of the first 100 participants, commending the 87 percent graduation rate and the fact that more than half of the participants were women.

“I am particularly impressed by what I have seen today. I congratulate you on the successful training of the first 100 participants and on the impressive results recorded. An 87 per cent graduation rate is commendable, especially when we consider that a significant proportion of the graduates are already earning in foreign currency,” Governor Otti stated.

The Governor noted that his administration is already collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the UNIPOD initiative, stressing that digital skills development and emerging technologies are critical to preparing young people for the future.

The Governor however emphasized that selection for the expanded programme must be strictly merit-based, proposing computer-based testing and additional assessments to ensure a transparent and competitive process.

Consequently, Governor Otti directed the team to work with relevant government officials to develop a clear implementation timetable and identify suitable facilities for the training.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Engr. David Kalu, who introduced the team, said the ThriveAbia pilot was a huge success with 100 young Abians graduating in various digital skill areas. He noted that apart from the 87 percent graduation success, over 50 percent of the graduates have already started earning in foreign currencies as a result of the training and mentorship.

In their remarks, the Director, Mrs. Doris Akpuha, and Co-founder of Tech Excentric, Mr. Gilbert Igwe, expressed satisfaction with the success of the pilot phase and said the team is ready to commence the first cohort of 1,000 participants following the Governor’s approval.

According to them, the programme is designed to equip young Abians with practical digital skills, entrepreneurship capabilities and mentorship required to compete in the global digital economy.

They also disclosed plans to launch a social media campaign to showcase the Governor’s achievements and highlight opportunities being created for young people, adding that the initiative aims to increase Abia’s GDP through digital economy.

They thanked Governor Otti for the opportunity to partner the State Government.

Stephanie Clems, Umuahia

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti has granted automatic employment into the State Civil Service to the 19 best graduating students of Cohort 3 Abia TechRise ICT skills development program.

The governor on Thursday, August 21, 2026, during the graduation ceremony of 850 youths trained in the third cohort of the program at the JAAC Secretariat, Umuahia, announced the employment benefit for the new graduates.

He said the reward was the brainchild of his government, which was committed to creating an enabling environment for the best talents in each of the cohorts of the TechRise program, adding that they would help provide quality services in the civil service.

Governor Otti also donated N100,000 to each of the graduating youths and directed the organizers to forfeit the laptops they used for training as personal property.

He directed the Head of Service and the relevant ministries to carry out needs assessment on all government agencies and open positions requiring ICT expertise in the state and fill them with TechRise graduates.

The Governor also announced the creation of a special wage or salary structure for ICT professionals in the state’s civil service, subject to the condition.

He further emphasized that retaining the best talents in each cohort of the TechRise would add value to the State’s institutions and services through their skills and technology.

The governor challenged the fresh graduates to seek the knowledge and add value to their lives, saying the knowledge and skills they gained through the free training were better than the N100,000.

He urged them to turn their skills into businesses, innovations, or ideas to generate income while advising against the use of their skills for criminal activities.

The governor acknowledged the innovative skill of a few graduates who made a working drone and directed the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation to partner them on the idea to take it to the next level.

The governor also said his administration was ready to establish international examination and certification centers for ICT in Abia while collaborating with MTN to provide internet facilities in the state.

Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, said the 100 percent free program, with 3 months of training, in partnership with the 17 local government areas, had so far trained 2,210 youths in three cohorts.

Meanwhile, the TechRise coordinator and CEO of LearnFactory, Engr. Chibueze Ukaegbu, said the free training program had also trained 2,500 civil servants in computers and would soon train 5,000 civil servants in computers.

Speaking on behalf of the graduates, Mr. Onuoha Victor Chinedu thanked Gov. Otti for giving them a platform to acquire the skills that will enable them to face their lives after studies.

By Editor, Umuahia

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, OFR, has called on Nigerians to embrace digital and distance education as the way to go in the contemporary time.

Governor Otti was speaking, while receiving in audience a delegation of the management of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) led by Professor Uduma Orji Uduma in his office.

Governor. Otti recounted that it was the NOUN that pioneered virtual learning in Nigeria.

“It is interesting that National Open University of Nigeria pioneered an effort decades ago when the world had not gone virtual. But today, I sit here and hold meetings with people in New York and Singapore.

“That is what learning has become. Distance, Open, Virtual, Zoom, Google meet and all the platforms for distance learning and virtual meetings have become the order of the day.

“So, we have no choice but to embrace it,” Gov. Otti stated. Governor Otti approved the citing of the Aba Study Centre of the NOUN, and directed the Commissioner for Tertiary Education to do a feasibility study on how to fix and upgrade the Umuahia study centre.

This was in response to the requests made by the Vice Chancellor of the institution.

“On your request to support in upgrading the place (Umuahia centre), I would like the Honourable Commissioner for Tertiary Education to take that up together with other members of the team.

“Let’s have a look and see how we can support them to upgrade the place.”On the request for a study centre in Aba, I think that one is a no-brainer. It has to be done.”So, the General Manager of the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA), please take that up and let’s find a place for them.

“Maybe we need to find a place that they will operate from on a temporary basis. Because before you start and finish building, it will probably take a long time.”So, you can start from a temporary place. We will now be thinking of a permanent site, which will be a fairly long-term project,” Gov. Otti said.

The State Chief Executive, who thanked them for the good job that they were doing at National Open University of Nigeria and for establishing a study centre in Asaga Ohafia as well as the one in the State capital, congratulated the Vice Chancellor on his position.

The Governor noted that his government pays a lot of attention to education, saying that, in the last three years, he had committed 20% of the annual budget to education, disclosing that, soon, he would be commissioning three smart schools within the month.

Earlier, the Leader of the delegation and Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Professor Uduma Orji Uduma said that the visit was to solicit for partnership with the Governor for the establishment of a study centre in Aba, describing Open and distant learning as the way to go in the 21st Century.

While noting that the University has 120 Study Centres across Nigeria with only 8 in the South East region, Professor Uduma appealed to the State government to partner with the University to secure land for the establishment of a study centre in Aba to enable more Abia people enjoy the gains of open and distant learning, in addition to fixing and upgrading the existing Umuahia study centre.

He appreciated the transformation projects of Governor Alex Otti in the State and maintained that the people across the country are happy about his people oriented development strides.