Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has announced a one million naira grant each for 100 graduating students of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Aba, alongside a six-month field technical training programme for 200 others, as the institution graduated 2,178 students.
Governor Otti made the announcement on Friday, during the 22nd Convocation Ceremony of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic (formerly Abia State Polytechnic), held at the Institution’s Convocation Arena.
The Governor in his speech titled “Education as a Responsibility“, recalled that he had, during last year’s combined convocation for the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 sessions, pledged one million naira each to 150 graduates with demonstrable entrepreneurial interests.
He confirmed that the ₦150 million earmarked for the scheme had been fully disbursed.
“I am happy that the exercise has now been concluded and funds disbursed to those who met the strict qualification criteria.
“Let me congratulate the beneficiaries and inform them that we shall be monitoring their progress, those who do well shall get more support from us”, he assured.
Governor Otti announced that an additional ₦100 million had been set aside for a new batch of 100 graduates with “feasible, bankable and scalable” business ideas and invited graduates who made Distinction in their final results to submit comprehensive business plans to his office electronically via oggh@abiastate.gov.ng on or before 31 December 2025.
The Governor also directed the Commissioners for Works, Housing, Power and Public Utilities, as well as the heads of the three regional development authorities, to design a six-month field training programme for 200 students with proven technical competence.
“Our aim is to ultimately create a system that empowers the young people in the State to be part of our development journey, supporting project execution in road infrastructure, housing, electricity, public water supply and more”, he stated.
Governor Otti who declared an end to the era of talent flight from the State said: “The days of letting our best and brightest brains 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”.
Governor Otti also commended the Management of the Institution for what he described as the holistic transformation recorded in the last two years.
He expressed satisfaction with the infrastructural developments at the permanent site in Osisioma, stating that the facilities would be commissioned soon.
The Governor later presented a posthumous award conferred on the late Dr Ogbonnaya Onu to his widow, Dr (Mrs) Chinyere Onu, noting that aside from being the First Civilian Governor of Abia State, Dr Onu’s vision led to the establishment of the institution, which was renamed in his honour.
In their separate remarks, the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Emmanuel Emeruwa, and the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Prof Eme Uche Eme, commended the Governor for the transformation witnessed in the institution, noting that under the current administration, the Institution has now emerged as the pride of Abia State.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Governing Council, Engr Stanley Egege, thanked Governor Otti for the administration’s unwavering support and credited the State Government for the institution’s recent progress.
Earlier in his address, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Engr Dr Christopher Okoro, revealed that the school had conducted three convocations in the last 14 years, two of which occurred under his 22-month leadership adding the that this was the first convocation since the renaming of the institution.
Dr Okoro disclosed that organisations were now specially requesting the institution’s students for industrial training and internship placements, noting that all 31 academic programmes submitted for accreditation scaled through “the rigorous regulatory procedure,” a feat he said was unprecedented in Nigeria’s tertiary sector.
He announced that routine academic activities would commence at the Osisioma campus in January 2026, praising the Governor for the massive infrastructural support.
The Convocation Ceremony featured awards and rewards for the best graduating students from each faculty with Nwosu Goodness Chimamanda of the Department of Computer Science, with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.94, emerged the overall best graduating student.
