On Monday, June 16th, Gov. Alex Otti received in audience, at the Executive Council Chamber, the State Champions of the 2025 Civic Connect Hackathon organised by the State Ministry of Science and Technology and the Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital Economy.

Gov. Otti praised Abia Youths for brimming with potentials and urged the Government team to continue creating such platforms where innovation is not only encouraged but celebrated. He directed the Honourable Commissioner for Science and Technology and the Chief Information Officer of the State to work with the Hackathon Champions to integrate elements of their innovative solutions into the State’s comprehensive ICT Solution platform under development.

Earlier in his speech, the Honourable Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. David Kalu introduced the winning teams and asked them to present their solutions to the State Executive Council.

The Civic Connect Hackathon is an initiative of the SA to the Governor on Digital Economy and the Ministry of Science and technology to encourage creativity and unlock the hidden brilliance and talents of Abia Youths, challenging and supporting their growth to become the future of innovation.

During their various presentations, the 3 teams demonstrated their App Solutions which they developed as projects to come top in the competition;

1. Oluora: A Web base solution developed by Team Alpha led by Charles Mark which bridges the communication gap between the citizens and the government in real time.
2. iAbia: An inclusive Web and Mobile Application platform developed by the BluTech Innovations Team led by Franklin Isaac, Innocent Chidinma and Emeka Victor to track Government activities in real time and give feedbacks.
3. Voice Out: A Smarter Governance Solution for Real-Time feedback. It is a civic engagement solution that empowers the people of Abia State to speak up, report issues, and connect directly with the Government. Whether it is bad road, power outage, security concerns or any community problems – Citizens can easily raise their voices through this solution.

The demonstration was witnessed by all members of the State Executive Council.

Ctz. UKOHA NJOKU UKOHA
Chief Press Secretary to the Executive Governor of Abia State.

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti has expressed the readiness of his administration to partner with serious private investors to build the proposed Abia Stadium City to create a better future and boost the economy of Abia State.

Governor Otti was speaking when he received in audience, a team of development partners led by the Managing Director, Irish Development Group (IDG) Mr. Nigel Neely, who came to present a master plan of the proposed Abia Stadium City in his office.

The Governor said that his administration has been on the stadium project and is looking for those who not only have the capacity to deliver but willing to invest in Abia. He said that, he believes that with private sector involvement, such a gigantic project could be achieved while its sustainability would be guaranteed, even beyond his tenure in office.

“We’ve been on this stadium project, and we’ve pushed very hard because we know what we want to achieve. Listening to you, you clearly know what to do.

“So, just looking at these highlights (the presentation), I know that the devil is in the details. It looks like something that can work. We have it out already, and I’m happy you have even gone ahead to inspect the site.

“So now, if it’s largely private sector-held, then even when I’m not here tomorrow, they will run well. because it also has to be sustainable.

The Governor, who stressed that sustainability is key, said that the government could have 10% or 20% maximum investment and allow the rest to be owned by private investors.

He said that what is needed is for both the government and the development partner’s team to sit and work out the details of the project.

“I think we’re now going to sit down and drill down the real issues around the details. Like , they said, the devil may be in the details.

“Where do we find the money? How much is it going to cost? In what tranches are they going to come? And, who is going to own it? As a government, we want to maintain minimum share holding, Gov. Otti stated.

Governor Otti appreciated the preliminary studies and spoke of the merits of the site.

“As you were making your presentation, I said, yes, that is exactly my impression about the place. We had a lot of options but we chose that place. One, it’s not inside, its not too far. And then, the airport that we have just started, is also not too far.

“And those are some of the attractions. You want to get to a stadium, or a stadium village, because, there’s a stadium. So you have good accommodation, you can do your shopping, you can go on holiday.

“Originally, we had a games village exactly where the airport is sitting now. And we took a decision that the airport and the games village should not be at the same place.

“And even for the people, it would make more sense to just get to the stadium and everything you want to do is around there. So, that’s what I’ve deducted from this presentation, which I think works, Gov. Otti noted.

The Governor further assured that power would not be a problem for the project as his administration is concluding plans to buy the Umuahia ringed-fence of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, which would provide enough power to Umuahia and the entire Abia North zone.

Speaking while making a presentation of the master plan for the proposed Abia Stadium City, the development partner and Managing Director, Irish Development Group (IDG), Mr. Nigel Neely said that the proposed Abia Stadium City, to be located on a 96-hectare expanse of land in Umuahia, represents a bold and forward-looking initiative designed to reposition Abia State as a premier destination for sports, tourism, business, and recreation.

He said that the project is anchored on the creation of a world-class, multi – functional sports and entertainment complex that would serve the region and attract global attention.

According to him, the structure for the proposed Abia Stadium City includes, Stadium and Sports zone, Games Village and High-Performance Training Centre, Residential District (Smart Housing); Offering modern, tech-integrated living spaces for residents and visitors, Hospitality and Tourism zone with hotels, resorts among others.

Mr. Neely expressed delight to be part of what he described as the transformative vision of Governor Alex Otti.

The Commissioners for Youth and Sports, Sir. Nwaobilor Nwadinma Ananaba and Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Uwaoma Ukandu were among government officials at the presentation.

Ctz. UKOHA NJOKU UKOHA
Chief Press Secretary to the Executive Governor of Abia State, Government House, Umuahia.

The Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti has received the National Sports Festival Torch of Peace and Unity in preparation for the 22nd National Sports Festival tagged “Gateway Games” holding at Abeokuta, Ogun State from 16th to 30th of May 2025.

Receiving the torch from the officials of the National Sports Commission, Abuja, Governor Otti commended the Abia Sports team for making the State proud.

He re-emphasized that sports holds everybody together and promotes unity among Nigerians.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Abia. I must re-emphasize that there is something that holds everybody together and that is sports.

“It is one area where there is no discrimination, even if somebody is your son or your daughter, if he is not proficient in a game, you would not field him.

“I am happy to acknowledge the appreciation from my team, the Team Abia. They have always done us proud, they have even continued to do Abia better this time around and that is why it was not a problem to approve their proposal,”

He noted that handing over the torch is just formality as he has already made cash available for the team to participate in the game.

Governor Otti, who promised that as many trophies as they come back with, he would appreciate and celebrate Team Abia at the sports festival, and said that the Abia athletes have done well and that the reward for good work is more work.

He thanked the leader of the team and the National Sports Commission for coming to present the torch and assured them that Abia State would be very well represented at the festival.

Handing over the torch, the leader of the torch team from the National Sports Commission, Mrs. Mbora Ikana, disclosed that the National Sports Festival was flagged off on the 25th of March, 2025 .

She said that coming to Abia with the torch serves as an invitation for Abia State to participate in the forthcoming National Sports Festival and noted that the torch signifies the unity of the country.

In a vote of Thanks, the Director of Sports, Comrade Obioma George commended Governor Otti for what he is doing in sports in Abia State and described Abia as a sporting destination.

He told the delegation to tell the National Sports Commission that Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, is the only Governor that has directed that sports should go back to secondary schools. In Abia State, last year, we did a wonderful secondary school games and this year, we are doing it again.

“In last year’s school sports, one of our boys got three gold medals in weight lifting in the National Youth Games.

“Tell them that the executive Governor of Abia is the only Governor that has appreciated the athletes. He welcomed and appreciated the paralympics, he welcomed and appreciated the under 15 national youth games and their officials.

He disclosed that they have packaged a team of 339 athletes and are going to the competition with only 25 sports out of the 40 sports approved by the National Sports Commission.

The Hon. Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development was represented by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth, Comrade Onyebuchi Chukwu.

Ctz. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha
Chief Press Secretary to the Executive Governor of Abia State.