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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has given assurance that the state owned Ogbonnaya Onu (formerly Abia State Polytechnic), Aba, will be a centre of excellence within the shortest possible time in line with his new Abia mantra.
Governor Otti gave the assurance during the 22nd convocation ceremony of the institution held at its Umungasi campus, Aba.
The Governor said his administration has begun a holistic turnaround of the Polytechnic’s infrastructure, including the asphalting of her internal roads both at the Umungasi and Osisioma campuses.
“We intentionally decided to rebuild the Polytechnic’s infrastructure including the asphalting of its internal roads and the building of new hostels especially at its Osisioma campus.
“We have equally reclaimed the institution’s land at Osisioma which was taken over by people for different purposes and we hope to continue the expansion of the institution with the state of the art facilities to make it centre of excellence in line with our new Abia mantra,” Otti said.
He stated that his administration was making huge investments in education to not only give the youths of the state the best in terms of education, but also to set them apart in today’s highly competitive world.
He commended the management of the institution for its efforts in restoring the lost glory of the Polytechnic and promised his administration’s continued support for the institution.
While praising the graduands for their resilience during their studies, he promised N1m grant each to 100 of the graduates with the best business proposals.
“Beyond the business grants, I have also directed the Commissioners for Works, Housing, Power and Public Utilities, and the heads of the 3 regional development authorities to develop a 6-month field training programme for 200 of you with proven technical competences in the operational areas of the establishments.
“The days of letting our best and brightest brains to wander off after graduation and begin to struggle in far off corners of the world without support are gone. The message to students in all our tertiary institutions is clear: do your best and we shall offer you further material leverage to find genuine success right here in Abia,” Otti stated.
The Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Christopher Okoro disclosed that in the past 14 years, the institution had only three Convocations, with two of them coming within the 22 months he has been in office.
The first civilian governor of the old Abia State, late Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who incidentally established the Polytechnic, was posthumously honoured with the Fellowship of the Polytechnic by Governor Otti. The honour was received by his wife, Dr. Chinyere Onu.
