Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to Education, describing it as the foundation upon which every meaningful development rests.
Governor Otti stated this on Wednesday, when he received the Regional Chairman /Enugu State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), East Regional Working Committee in his office at Nvosi Isialangwa South LGA.
The Governor noted that Education remains central to his administration’s development strategy, stressing that the progress of any society depends largely on the quality of its educational foundation.
“Thank you for the felicitations with the State and thank you for recognising our modest efforts at changing the narrative in Education in Abia State and other sectors in the State.
“We take Education very, very seriously. If you ignore the very foundation of humanity, then every other thing you are doing is a waste of time.
“A lot of the problems that we face, you trace it back to Education or lack thereof. When we educate people, their thinking changes, the opportunities available to them expand”, he stated.
Governor Otti explained that the State Government had consistently devoted one fifth of its annual budget to Education because of its far-reaching impact on human development and societal transformation.
“The simple reason is that none of us would be sitting here if we were not educated, including the teachers themselves.
“That is why we have consistently in the last three years devoted one-fifth of our budget to education and it will continue that way insofar as I sit here”, the Governor noted.
Responding to requests presented by the teachers’ union, including the provision of a bus and completion of the Teachers’ House in the State, Governor Otti assured the delegation that the Government would consider their demands.
Earlier, the Chairman of the East Region General Working Committee of the NUT, Comrade Nweke Odo, commended Governor Otti for what he described as remarkable interventions in the Education sector in Abia State.
Comrade Odo said the committee, which represents teachers across the nine States of the old Eastern Region comprising Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa, visited the Governor to appreciate his administration’s efforts.
“We have heard much about Dr Alex Otti, the Governor of Abia State. We deemed it necessary to come and say thank you, sir”, Comrade Odo said.
According to him, the Governor’s allocation of 20% of the State budget to Education, recruitment of teachers and settlement of salary arrears had significantly improved the welfare of teachers in the State.
“Recruitment of 5,300 teachers and then ongoing recruitment of 4,000 teachers, that means 9,300 teachers within a short time you assumed office. I mean, it’s overwhelming”, Odo stated.
He also commended the State Government for the regular payment of salaries, settlement of 17 months’ salary arrears owed teachers by the previous administration, the construction of Smart Schools, and the approval of the harmonised retirement age of 65 years or 40 years of service for teachers.
The NUT leader who urged other Governor’s in the region to emulate Governor Otti, assured the Governor of the continued support of teachers in Abia and across the Eastern region.
Comrade Odo appealed for Government support in providing a new bus for the State Chapter of the Union and completing the Teachers’ House in Abia.
He disclosed that the East Regional Working Committee would host a National Conference later in the year, where teachers from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory would converge in the region and invited Governor Otti to attend.
