Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Governor Alex Otti will on February 25 formally flag off the construction of the Enyimba International Hotel Limited, a 250-room, five-star hospitality facility in Aba.
The project, to be developed by Radisson Blu Group, was announced on Monday by the Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, while briefing journalists at Government House Umuahia on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by the governor.
Kanu said the hotel aligns with the state’s industrial transformation agenda, with a strategic focus on growing the hospitality industry.
He disclosed that the Abia State Government has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Radisson Blu, which will manage the facility after full renovation and retrofitting.
“The hotel will commence operations with 155 rooms and gradually scale up to 250 rooms,” Kanu said, adding that when fully operational, the project is expected to create about 5,500 direct and indirect jobs and significantly boost the state’s internally generated revenue.
According to him, the Enyimba Hotel project will deepen Abia’s presence in Nigeria’s hospitality landscape while serving as a catalyst for economic growth.
On education, the commissioner said the second phase of the ongoing teachers’ recruitment exercise is progressing smoothly.
He revealed that 36,415 applications were received, with 24,023 candidates shortlisted for the Computer-Based Test (CBT), the date of which will be announced later.
Kanu recalled that 5,494 teachers were employed last year, while the target for the current batch is 4,000.
Kanu also announced the deployment of the Education Management and Information System (EMIS), designed to integrate basic and secondary education data into a central database to enhance school management, planning, and data-driven decision-making.
He further disclosed that mass literacy, adult, and non-formal education programmes for the 2025–2026 academic session have resumed across the state’s 17 local government areas, with ongoing sensitisation to boost enrolment among school dropouts, traders, and artisans.
Highlighting recent achievements, Kanu said Abia emerged best overall and best in athletics at the recently concluded National Basic Education Schools Sports Games, clinching eight gold medals in athletics. He noted that the governor has pledged to formally receive and host the victorious contingent.
He attributed the success to sustained reforms in the education sector, noting that Abia has ranked as the best-performing state in National Examinations Council examinations for three consecutive years.
On infrastructure, Kanu said the Ministry of Works is executing direct labour projects at 14 locations statewide, with four projects completed and three added to the maintenance portfolio.
Completed roads include sections of the Alayi–Ugwueke Road (Bende LGA), Awomukwu–Umusokoro and Umusokoro roads (Ikwuano LGA), and the Umunkpeyi–Umuru–Okokiri Road (Isialangwa South LGA).
Contributing, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Goodluck Ubochi, said EMIS will help track pupils’ movement across public and private schools to ensure proper monitoring and continuity.
Present at the briefing was the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma.
