Governor Alex Otti has announced a business grant of N1 million each for 100 distinguished graduates of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic (formerly Abia Poly).

This comes less than a week after the Governor awarded N1 million grants to 150 exceptional students of the institution who graduated between 2022 and 2025.

At the weekend, Governor Otti presented a posthumous award conferred on the first civilian Governor of the old Abia State, the late Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, by the Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba.

The Governor also announced a N100 million business grant for 100 graduates of the institution with viable business proposals. He made the disclosure during the school’s 12th convocation, stressing that beneficiaries must present sound business plans.

Otti further directed that job opportunities be created for the state’s best-performing graduates from all tertiary institutions in Abia.

He said:

“Beyond the business grants, I have directed the Commissioners for Works, Housing, Power and Public Utilities, and the heads of the three regional development authorities to develop a six-month field training programme for 200 graduates with proven technical competencies in the operational areas of the establishments.

“The days of letting our best and brightest wander off after graduation to struggle in far-off places without support are gone. The message to students in all our tertiary institutions is clear: do your best, and we shall give you the leverage to find genuine success right here in Abia.”

Otti promised to transform the institution into a centre of excellence in line with his “New Abia” agenda.

He said his administration had commenced a holistic overhaul of the Polytechnic’s infrastructure, including the asphalting of internal roads at both the Umungasi and Osisioma campuses.

“We intentionally decided to rebuild the Polytechnic’s infrastructure, including asphalting its internal roads and constructing new hostels, especially at the Osisioma campus. We have also reclaimed the institution’s land at Osisioma, which had been encroached upon, and we will continue to expand the institution with state-of-the-art facilities to make it a centre of excellence,” he said.

Otti disclosed that his administration is making significant investments in education to give Abia youths the best opportunities and position them competitively in today’s global environment.

He commended the institution’s management for restoring the Polytechnic’s lost glory and pledged continued government support.

The Governor also conferred a posthumous Fellowship Award on Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who played a key role in establishing the institution. Presenting the award to his wife, Dr. (Mrs.) Chinyere Onu, he said the renaming of the Polytechnic after Onu was part of efforts to immortalize him.

In his address, the Rector praised the Governor for his massive support, which he said had driven the ongoing transformation in the institution. He noted that in the past 14 years, the Polytechnic had held only three convocations, with two conducted within Otti’s 22 months in office.

He added that the institution had gained national and international visibility by participating in high-profile skills development programmes such as the Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE) initiative of the Federal Government, aimed at boosting the digital and creative ecosystem.

“Another is the Innovation, Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS), a Federal Government-backed skills training and TVET reform programme,” he said. (Vanguard)

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