Otti To Polish Ambassador: Abia Is Open To Robust Partnerships

• Abia Announces Appointment Of New Had Of Service

Dr. Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State, has stated that his administration is open to strong collaborations that will contribute to the growth of the state’s diverse sectors of the economy.

Governor Otti interacted with the Polish Ambassador to Nigeria, Her Excellency, Mrs. Joana Tarnawska, who paid him an official visit on Wednesday.

The Governor expressed his gratitude to the Polish government for its willingness to collaborate with Abia State, assuring the Ambassador that there is no better state to cooperate with than Abia.

“There can’t be a better State to partner with than Abia, and I say that for a lot of reasons. In terms of agriculture, we are very big. In terms of education, our dreams are very big, and we believe that by the time we are done, we will actually be exporting education, if there is something like that, as an industry to the world,” he said.

Governor Otti disclosed that there are close to 1,000 public schools in the State, explaining that the government is looking at standardising the entire education spectrum, from primary to secondary through tertiary levels.

He further announced that his government had set minimum standards to be adhered to by all the public and private schools in the State, stressing that his administration is very passionate about education.

“We are very passionate about education. We are doing the same for healthcare, and security; those are very critical. Those are the areas where people may be tempted to ignore but they are so important to every other thing we are discussing with respect to development,” he stated.

The Governor equally informed that Aba is an industrial hub for the entire South East, with creative potential, and maintained that with more support from the government, entrepreneurs will do more and even produce products that can compete favourably in the international market.

He further requested Mrs Tarnawska to visit Aba to see for herself the ingenuity of Aba artisans, saying, “Our people are very creative, very innovative, very focused. They produce virtually everything; they may not be as sophisticated as those in Europe but they work”

Earlier, the Polish Ambassador, who disclosed that the visit was her first to the South East, said that there was a lot that could be done together between Nigeria and Poland.

“Nigeria is a country of great opportunities and potential. We would like to tap into that potential and look for new avenues of cooperation between Poland and Nigeria, and in particular your state.

“Last year, the President of Poland visited Nigeria, we signed an MoU on Cooperation, Agriculture and I hope that we can on this basis develop even closer ties with Nigeria and with Abia State.

“We would like to cooperate in Agriculture, Mining, Education and Culture, and I believe that this would be to the benefit of both our great nations.

The Ambassador of Poland was accompanied by an Abia-born former member of the Polish Parliament, Hon. John Abraham Godson, and Uchechi Dakoru, her personal Assistant.

The commissioners for Education and Trade, Commerce and Industry, Prof Uche Eme-Uche and Dr. Chimezie Ukaegbu, respectively,  as well as the Principal Secretary to the Governor and Chief Strategy Officer joined the Governor in the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Abia State Government has announced the appointment of a new Head of Service (HOS) for the state’s civil service.

A statement issued Wednesday, November 29, 2023, and signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof Kenneth Kalu, says Governor Alex Otti has approved the appointment of Dr. Ngozi Queen Obioma as the new Head of Service.

The appointment, according to the statement, takes effect December 1, 2023.

Prof Kalu expressed the Governor’s appreciation to the acting Head of Service for her contributions and wished her well on her new posting.