By IHECHINYERE CHIGEMERI-UWOM

Gov. Alex Otti of Abia says he has approved discriminatory compensation package to incentivise teaching services in public schools located in remote areas of the state.Otti said this during the December edition of his monthly media chat at the Government House, Umuahia, on Friday night.He said that the initiative would address the persistent challenge of staffing in hard-to-reach areas.The governor said that by offering tailored benefits to attract and retain educators, the government would be able to provide access to quality education in rural areas.He said that plans had been made to recruit more teachers to bridge the staffing gaps in underserved parts of the state.?What we have done in the last few weeks is to put in place a discriminatory compensation package to encourage people to serve in those areas.?My understanding is that people received it very well and in the next few weeks we intend to see that it has worked, so that we won?t have any institution or any school that is understaffed,? Otti said.He further said that the government had made significant improvements in the education sector through the separation of management of basic and secondary education from tertiary education for better oversight.On infrastructure development, Otti said that several road projects had been completed and inaugurated for public use.He said that the dualisation of Onuimo to Abia Tower and reconstruction of Ntigha-Mbawsi-Umuala Road and Umuopara Ring Road had commenced, while more road works would be commissioned before year-end.He said that through a collaboration between the Federal and Abia Governments the proposed Abia Airport project was upgraded from an airstrip to a full-fledged airport.According to him, the State Government will provide the land and logistics required for the project.Speaking on budget and planning, he said that the 2025 proposed budget of N750.2 billion was designed, considering the effects of inflation and exchange rate depreciation.Otti further said that 82 per cent of the budget was allocated to capital expenditure and 18 per cent to recurrent, while in its breakdown, 20 per cent was given to education and 15 per cent to health.On healthcare, he said that 200 Primary Healthcare Centers (PHC) were being rehabilitated to ensure that each ward in the state got at least one functional PHC.He said that preparations were ongoing with respect to the construction of the state?s Medical Village and updates should be expected in the first quarter of 2025.Otti also said that the state won a price in the UNICEF Leadership Challenge and commended the Ministry of Health for making the state proud in the competition.He said that Abia won $400,000, placing second in the South-East and urged the ministry to exercise greater commitment to improve the state?s standing in future competitions.The governor also spoke on government?s efforts to improve Agriculture, saying that the government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a company that would invest $120 million for palm production in the Ukwa area, with plans to expand.He said that the government had reorganised the state?s security architecture to address insecurity and ensure safety during the festive season and beyond.He said that he had given directives for swift resolution of the minor issues observed in the implementation of the new minimum wage.Otti further said that the government, in line with its desire to improve workers? welfare, had approved the payment of 13th month salary on or before Dec. 18 to the Abia civil servants. (NAN)

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