Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has gifted 150 graduates of the Dr Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, a sum of N150 million as a grant to start their private businesses.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma, stated that the governor donated the money last Saturday during the polytechnic’s convocation ceremony.
Ekeoma said Otti, who had always attributed his success in life to education, gave the grant in his push to help Abia youths discover veritable and viable pathways to success through education.
He pointed out that the donation marked a watershed in the history of the polytechnic, as Otti intensified his thoughtful and statesmanly drive for the recovery, rediscovery and rejuvenation of the institution that was mismanaged by previous administrations in the state.
The statement reads in part, “Governor Otti, by this compassionate action, didn’t just agree with the former British Prime Minister, Mr John Major’s submission at one of Anyiam Osigwe Memorial Lectures that “Education is the greatest elixir for modern development,” but has gone a step further to practicalize it by ensuring that these bright and brilliant youths are not thrown into the badly saturated labour market, where their chances of survival would face enormous threat, given the present economic challenges confronting the nation.
“Gov. Otti also leveraged his contact and influence to ensure that over N500 million was raised to support the institution, giving the institution a rare privilege of attaining a height envied by other institutions.
“As known to Abians, Governor Otti has commenced the payment of the 32 months of arrears of salary and other entitlements owed staff of the polytechnic by the previous government and assured that those who were disengaged, retrenched, or sacked will be paid what is owed them.
“The governor restated his administration’s desire to sustain the transformation it ignited in the school in the last year and assured that his government would soon commence the construction of internal roads in the school to give it a befitting learning environment and further assured of plans to secure enough hostel accommodations for the students.
“How time flies. This was the same polytechnic where hundreds of workers were sacked after being owed several months of salary arrears. The same characters who sacked them would later pretend to have employed thousands of civil servants in different ministries a few months before and after the 2023 election; an atrocity they have continued to use to blackmail the present government by falsely alleging that the present government sacked ‘workers’ they employed.
“It was the same polytechnic where staff was owed 32 months’ salary arrears, making industrial action a reoccurring decimal and subsequently led to a massive decline in the number of students willing to study in the institution before Governor Otti came on board.
“From welfare of staff to infrastructure development, curricular review, and now to students’ future, Governor Otti is determined and dedicated to driving the Dr Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic out of the mess and mediocre status it was driven into over the years while rebuilding the polytechnic to have all the institutional structure, settings and enabling environment to churn out the best that would make Abia proud everywhere.
“What just happened is part of the holistic transformational initiatives being carried out in Abia’s educational sector, which has seen the governor initiate far-reaching reforms in our tertiary institutions where several months of salary arrears are presently being cleared while the process for infrastructural rejuvenation and retraining of staff has since commenced.”
The SA averred that “after seeing the former Abia State Polytechnic decline and deteriorate in population, academics and infrastructure for years, the people prayed and hoped for a New Dawn, and finally, the New Dawn is here as the metamorphosis has begun both in nomenclature, infrastructure and academics, courtesy of Governor Alex Otti’s desire and determination to rewrite a chequered history that should not have been written ab initio.”
He added that with this new development, the institution would begin to regain its lost glory in all facets, as staff and students would once again develop the hunger and desire for success, having been given a new inspiration, lease of life and hope by their governor to aspire for excellence that would automatically bring a heartwarming reward.
He added, “Also, the name and reputation of the institution which were badly battered as a result of the stigma of non-payment of salaries and strike, would begin a process of sanitisation and restoration.”
