The Abia State Government has commenced the process of appointing a substantive Vice-Chancellor for Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu, with the successful candidate expected to assume office in November 2026.

Governor Alex Otti disclosed this on Thursday in Umuahia during his monthly media chat, tagged “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians.”

Otti said the process became necessary as the tenure of the acting Vice-Chancellor is expected to end in October. He added that the position has already been advertised and the recruitment process has commenced.

“From first November, a substantive and new vice-chancellor would take over. Because of that, I think the advertisements have gone out, and the recruitment process has started,” Otti stated.

The governor also disclosed that his administration had made provisions for the payment of pensions to the next of kin of deceased pensioners, stressing the government's commitment to addressing pension-related issues.

According to him, the state recently completed the payment of outstanding gratuities to senior citizens who retired between 2001 and 2010.

He said the government was now preparing to address outstanding gratuities for retirees from 2011 to the present, subject to the availability of resources.

“We are getting ready to deal with the remaining years from 2011 all the way to the present, based on available resources,” he said.

Otti noted that his administration had committed to gradually clearing outstanding gratuities estimated at over N60 billion while putting the necessary structures in place to permanently address pension issues in the state.

He added that the government rolled out a contributory pension scheme for more than 36,000 workers in the state last month.

“What that means is that the issue of pensions and even gratuity will become seamless, since the contributory pension scheme is such that between the worker and the employer, some funds are set aside on a monthly basis to take care of the pension and gratuity that they forward you,” he added.

The governor further announced that the state’s Citizens’ Engagement Centre would soon be officially opened to enable residents to ask questions, make observations and contribute ideas on government policies.

On education, Otti said his administration was reconstituting the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) to oversee matters relating to the management of secondary education across the state.

He also disclosed that the government had successfully recruited 4,074 new teachers to address identified manpower gaps.

On healthcare, the governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to providing quality and affordable healthcare services.

He noted that Abia was recently ranked first in healthcare affordability and third in healthcare quality in the 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index in Nigeria.