Abia to recruit 33 medical consultants, passes start-up bill to boost healthcare, digital economy

The Abia State government has announced plans to recruit thirty-three medical consultants into the state civil service to strengthen healthcare delivery across the state.

State Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed in Umuahia that the appointments follow the successful completion of interviews conducted by the State Civil Service Commission as part of the ongoing recruitment exercise for health professionals. He noted that the recruitment portal remains open for Ophthalmologists, dental officers, medical officers, and both contract and full-time consultants.

Prince Kanu also revealed that the proposed Abia Startup Bill, sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovations, has been passed by the State House of Assembly. He said the Bill aligns with Governor Alex Otti’s vision of establishing a thriving digital economy to stimulate innovation across multiple sectors.

“The next step will be for the governor to grant his assent and sign the Bill into law. With the law in place, we will set up the Abia State Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Board and launch the Abia Startup Portal,” Kanu explained.

He added that the state government’s strategic initiatives aim to create an enabling environment for start-ups, noting that the Abia Technology and Innovation Summit is scheduled to hold from December 10 to 12, 2025.

 “The main thrust of the summit will involve activities surrounding the start-up law and the hosting of a start-up innovation challenge. The summit will hold at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia.

“The challenge will be open and not restricted to graduates of the state’s first TechRise program. The challenge will use the new UNPD UNIPOD facility at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture during the challenge event”, he stated.

The Commissioner also announced that the State Government will host the 44th National Council of Civil Service Commission Conference between November 30 and December 5, 2025.

“This conference will have over 600 participants in attendance. The conference is another evidence of the growing focus on Abia state, following the massive transformation recorded so far in all aspects of governance in the state in the past 29 months of the Dr. Alex Otti-led administration”, he stated.

The Commissioner informed that the Governor has granted approval for the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) to oversee the construction and deployment of 100 additional bucket bins across the state.

He said, “The construction of the bin buckets is being undertaken by Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba.

“With the deployment of these additional bin buckets, it is hoped that the laudable waste disposal and sanitation activities of ASEPA will take the state to an even higher level of cleanliness”.

He informed that the State Ministry of Works has embarked on Direct Labour projects in 48 locations across the state, adding that five of such Direct Labour projects were completed recently, while five new projects were added to the maintenance bucket of the ministry.

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The Information boss used the opportunity to give clarification on the information regarding the increase in the monthly allowance of National Youth Corps members serving in the state and declared that the allowance for Youth Corps members has been increased to N50,000.

“We observed that there have been some conflicting reports about the governor’s kind gesture towards the Youth Corps members serving in the state.

“The allowance paid to corps members serving in the state establishments had remained stagnant for 27 years.

“With the kind gesture by the governor, both corps members serving in the state establishments and others in the private sector will now earn N20,000 across board. Simply put, the increase is from N4,000 to N20,000.

“The corps members serving in the state-owned establishments will earn an additional N10,000, bringing the total allowance for such corps to N30,000. The corps members in the private sector establishments will also be entitled to whatever extra allowance their employers pay them.

“Corps members who serve as medical personnel in the state-owned health centre institutions and those who teach in the state educational system will earn an extra sum of N30,000, bringing the total monthly allowance for such categories of corps to N50,000”, Prince Kanu explained.