The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has concluded plans to officially unveil the Abia State 25-Year Development Plan, one of the most significant legacy projects present administration on Tuesday, 16th of December 2025.
This was even as the state government says a recent report released by the Abia State Ministry of Health has indicated that various partnerships and interventions deployed by the present administration have saved the state upwards of N2.5 billion in health care costs
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu disclosed this on Monday, while briefing news men on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti, stating, “the formal presentation of the 25-Year Development Plan, unarguably, will stand out as one of the most significant legacy projects of his (Gov. Otti) administration.
“The plan will chart a deliberate and transformative roadmap for Abia State, anchoring our collective vision for economic resilience, infrastructural expansion, social advancement and generational security into the middle of this century” Prince Kanu stated.
Prince Kanu noted that the Development Plan is structured to rest on six key pillars, including; people and resources, growth and stability, sustainable economy, social infrastructure and inclusion, governance and reform, and cross-sector linkages.
He maintained that, upon implementation, the plan would help to build a dynamic and inclusive economy by unlocking local potential and attracting global investment across key sectors in the state.
He added that, the plan seeks a future of modern climate-resilient infrastructure, including clean energy, digital connectivity and sustainable urban planning, and assured, “the plan during implementation will also be governed by strong institutions that promote transparency, citizen participation, ensuring peace, security and inclusive development”.
“On the whole, the future-ready Development Plan, if religiously implemented, will take Abia State to the third pole of economic well-being and development among the community of states in Nigeria”, Prince Kanu stated and announced that, the 2nd Abia International Trade Fair comes up on Tuesday, 9th December at the Trade Fair grounds in Abia, with the opening ceremony at 11.00am.
He informed that All the 17 Local Government Areas in the State have procured stands to exhibit and showcase products from their individual LGAs, adding that there would be a distribution of products by various SMEs based within Abia and other parts of the State.
“The Trade Fair promises to be another great event that will further strengthen Abia as the economic and commercial hub of the State”, he said.
Contributing, the Commissioner for Budget and Planing, Mr. Kingsley Anosike noted that, before the inception of Governor Otti, there was a 30-year development plan, recalling “in 2020, the then administration had a 30-year plan that extends to 2050. When this administration came on board, they constituted a team to review the plan.
“And the reason is simple. That plan in 2020 was a COVID-19 plan. The entire world was still recovering from that situation. Between 2020 and 2025, five years stretch of economic activities, economic turbulence and everything happening in the world. Any serious administration would want to look at the indices, the framework of whatever the development plan is and realign it to current reality”, Mr. Anosike explained.
Mr. Anosike, who described the development plan as future-proof said that explained that the development plan is different because it is going to be backed by legislations.
The Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr David Kalu, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma were present at the press briefing.
Similarly,, the state information boss disclosed that a recent report released by the Abia State Ministry of Health has indicated that various partnerships and interventions deployed by the present administration have saved the state upwards of N2.5 billion in health care costs, informing that the state’s strategic partnerships with global health organizations—driven by the governor’s leadership vision—have positioned Abia favourably in the health sector, as well as saved innumerable lives.
“The partners include Revive Belgium, ProHealth, Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, Living Hope Foundation, NDDC, etc”, he said, revealing that between the 15th and 18th of December,the Abia state Global Medical Mission will be held in the state.
“This is a collaboration between the state government, Abia State Diaspora Council and the Ministry of Health. The outreach promises to be a significant medical outreach that will affect the lives of Abians in very many significant ways” Prince Kanu stated.
Prince Kanu said that about 81 out of the 102 Primary Health Centres in the first phase of the “Project Ekwueme” have been functionalised while the remaining 92 would be fully equipped and functionalised in the new year.
He also announced that the Maternal and Child Birth Round 2 programme will be flagged off on Tuesday,9th December, informing that, the office of the First Lady, the state Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Women Affairs are collaborating on the program, while the Abia State State Primary Health Care Development Agency would anchor the project.
Prince Kanu also announced that the National Malaria Elimination Programme is setting up a vector surveillance laboratory at the Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, a medical facility meant to track the prevalence of Malaria disease in the state.
Prince Kanu further announced that this week is full of activities for the state’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, informing, “earlier today (Monday), a Hackathon, referred to as a Startathon, commenced at the UNDP-Built Unipod at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture. The upcoming summit will showcase groundbreaking innovations from SMEs, developers, entrepreneurs, especially young innovators”.
He noted that the summit would feature the official launch of the Abia Technology Startup Law, a major step towards boosting digital innovation and entrepreneurship, adding that, the state Ministry of Agriculture would also be launching the Abia Agricultural Dynamic Database System (Abia ADDS) during the summit, stating that, the digital platform will enhance data-driven planning and support innovation across the state’s agricultural value chain.
Answering questions on the alleged hijacking and kidnapping along the Owerrinta -Airport road, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma described the report as unconfirmed, assuring that the administration of Governor Alex Otti is committed to protecting lives and property of the people even as this yuletide.
The Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr David Kalu, Commissioner for Budget and Planing, Mr Kingsley Anosike among others were present at the press briefing.
