Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti has again lifted the ban on employment in the State’s Civil Service, to grant automatic employment to 19 best performing graduands of the Abia TechRise ICT training programme.
Governor Otti made the announcement on Saturday during the graduation ceremony of the programme held at the JAAC Secretariat, Umuahia.
The Governor directed the Head of Service, Mr. Benson Ojeikere, to immediately begin documentation for the newly employed graduands, with a view to ensuring they resume work on Monday, May 12, 2025.
“There are about 16 of you in those three groups. I also saw that there are three of you that received awards now. And that takes the number to 19.
“I would like to instruction the Head of Service to work with the Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation. And of course the Chief Information Officer. And ensure that the 19 of you start work with the Abia Civil Service.
“The effective start date is on Monday. Head of service, please prepare your documentation, so that I would temporarily lift the ban on employment”, Gov. Otti instructed.
In addition to the employment offer, Governor Otti ordered that each of the 509 graduands of the training programme should go home with a laptop provided by the State Government to enable them begin practical application of the skills they acquired.
He also announced the immediate commencement of a second batch of the TechRise programme, targeting 850 new trainees, 50 from each of the 17 Local Government Areas of the State.
“Rather than giving you fish, which is what we have said in our manifesto, we want to give you all the necessary instruments and the training so that you can catch fish yourself. We want to empower you so that you can look after yourself.
“We want you to create jobs for yourself. Gone are the days of keke empowerment. Today the empowerment is to use what you have. What God has deposited in you. There is nobody that you can write off”, Gov. Otti stated.
To ensure sustainability of the initiative, The Governor also directed the Chief Strategy Officer to maintain a digital platform for follow-up and support, including opportunities to connect the trainees with tech institutions globally.
Governor Otti expressed appreciation to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, and other partners including LearnFactory Nigeria, for their roles in the success of the programme.
Speaking earlier, Prince Nwachukwu described the TechRise initiative as a transformative platform that equipped Abia youths with practical digital skills within just three months.
“We are proud to say that Abia TechRise is not just a training programme, it is a movement, a platform for unlocking the latent potential of our youths and positioning them for relevance in the 21st century digital economy,” the Commissioner stated.
Also speaking, the CEO of LearnFactory Nigeria, Engr. Chibueze Ukaegbu, explained that the training covered seven key courses tailored to the demands of the modern digital age.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr. Samuel Uchendu, while expressing gratitude to the Governor, noted that they were trained in areas such as Digital Animation and Artificial Intelligence, and emphasized that the knowledge acquired would boost their economic prospects.
