Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has charged young people in the state to embrace excellence, innovation, hard work and selfless service, urging them to become active drivers of his administration’s New Abia agenda.
Otti gave the charge on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at the graduation ceremony of the 2026 Abia State Leadership Academy Youth Leadership Boot Camp, held at the International Conference Centre, Ogurube Layout, Umuahia.
A total of 1,086 young people graduated from the four-week programme, organised by the Abia State Leadership Academy in collaboration with the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos. The graduates were selected from more than 7,000 applicants.
Speaking on the theme, “The Leadership Vocation,” the Governor congratulated the graduates and reminded them that their graduation marked the beginning of a greater responsibility to their communities and the state.
“The process was as seamless as it was transparent, and today, we can see evidence that, in line with our philosophy of merit, only the best performers were chosen to be part of this class,” Otti said.
He commended the President of the Academy, Professor Kenneth Kalu, and his team, as well as the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University, led by its Director, Dr. Nneka Okekaru, for their roles in delivering the programme.
The Governor also appreciated the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, the management of Government College Umuahia and the Nigerian Naval College of Accounts and Finance for their partnership and support, while thanking parents for entrusting their children to the government.
Otti said the participation of young Abians living outside the state further demonstrated the administration’s inclusive approach to citizenship.
According to him, about 10 per cent of the participants were Abia indigenes residing in different parts of the country, while he singled out Ms. Rosely Farida Abdusalam, who lives in Aba with her parents, as an example of the policy that “if you live in Abia, you are from Abia.”
Addressing the graduates, Otti said their exposure at the Academy had placed a new responsibility on them to distinguish themselves wherever they found themselves.
“You are not going home as regular people anymore. You now belong to a special community of young minds with a responsibility to act with distinction and carry the light of excellence into your communities, schools, and wherever the future takes you,” he said.
The Governor urged the graduates to establish mentoring clusters, share the knowledge acquired during the programme and mobilise other young people to contribute to the development of the state.
He described the New Abia project as a transgenerational undertaking requiring resilience, teamwork, patience and commitment, insisting that the graduates could no longer afford to remain passive citizens.
“After your stay at the academy, you can no longer be passive citizens. You are invited to remove the cloak of lethargy and embrace without hesitation the responsibility of selfless service,” Otti charged.
The Governor assured the graduates that his administration would continue to support and monitor their development, directing the Academy to maintain a directory of participants and track their progress.
He also expressed interest in seeing ideas generated through the graduates’ capstone presentations translated into practical solutions.
“We are far more interested in seeing them come to fruition,” he said, describing the graduates as “bearers of solutions, drivers of innovation, and agents of transformation.”
Otti encouraged them to approach the government whenever they required support to actualise their ventures, while urging them to remain steadfast in the face of opposition and challenges.
“It is either you are voting for a prosperous future through your daily choices or you are undermining it by refusing to stand for your conviction,” he said.
The Governor expressed confidence in the young leaders and urged them to justify the confidence reposed in them by making measurable contributions to their communities.
1,086 Youths Selected From Over 7,000 Applicants
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Abia State Civil Service Commission, Pastor Dr. Eno Jerry Eze, said the 1,086 graduates were selected from more than 7,000 applicants, describing their emergence as evidence of their potential and commitment to leadership.
She said the 2026 boot camp, themed “Raising Transformational Leaders, Innovators and Change-Makers,” reflected the Otti administration’s decision to invest in young people alongside its physical development programmes.
“Under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, we are investing not just in roads, schools, climate-friendly transportation, agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises and hospitals. We are also investing in our greatest assets, our young people,” she stated.
Eze explained that the training exposed participants to real-life scenarios beyond conventional classroom lectures, enabling them to develop critical thinking, appreciate diverse perspectives and devise practical solutions to societal challenges.
“Through these sessions, you gained new perspectives on problem-solving techniques, learned to think more deeply, understand the peculiarities of each situation, and listened to different views across the table,” she said.
She commended Governor Otti for his commitment to youth development and praised the Academy for delivering what she described as a world-class programme.
‘Investing in Minds Will Outlast Structures’
Earlier, the President of the Abia State Leadership Academy, Professor Kenneth Kalu, commended Otti for establishing the institution as a deliberate investment in the future of the state.
Kalu said the Academy was founded after the Governor posed the question of whether government should invest not only in what Abia has today but also in what the state would become tomorrow.
He said while roads, buildings and hospitals were important, developing the character, values and civic consciousness of young people would have a lasting generational impact.
“Roads, buildings and other structures are important, and Your Excellency is already doing a lot in those sectors. But a generation shaped by values, a generation taught to live with integrity, serve with compassion and build with purpose, that generation will outlast every structure one can ever erect,” he said.
Kalu thanked the Governor for his support and vision, describing the Academy as an investment whose impact would extend across generations.
“Thank you for planting a forest of leadership whose shade will shelter Abia for generations. History will remember this day that you came, you saw and you changed humanity for good,” he said.
He charged the graduates to translate the lessons from the Academy into action in their communities.
“Go back to your communities and lead. Go back to your schools and solve. Go back to your families and model the values you have learned during your time at the Academy,” Kalu said.
He also warned the graduates against compromising their values when confronted with pressure or temptation.
“When you are tempted to compromise, as you will be tempted, please remember this day. When the path of integrity feels lonely, please remember the Academy,” he added.
The ceremony featured goodwill messages from the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, Ph.D., the President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Mrs. Ekeoma Ezeibe, and other dignitaries.
The Governor, while thanking the graduates for being good ambassadors of Abia and their families, directed the Academy to sustain the leadership development programme as part of efforts to raise a new generation of principled, innovative and service-oriented leaders for Abia State and Nigeria.
