Otti’s wife distributes 110,000 exercise books to school children in Abia

By Ihechinyere Chigemeri-Uwom

Wife of the Abia Governor, Mrs. Priscilla Otti, has distributed 110,000 exercise books to school children in the state with each child getting six books. The ceremony, which was sponsored by the Renewed Hope Initiative, a pet project of the First Lady of Nigeria, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, in partnership with Mrs. Otti and the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board, ASUBEB, held in Umuahia.

The distribution of the free exercise books to pupils and students in the state is one of Sen. Tinubu’s interventions.

The Abia First Lady said that the present administration had made education a priority, which is evident in the infrastructure development in the sector, allocation of 20 per cent of the state’s budget to education and training of teachers to enhance the teaching and learning experience.

She said that Abia occupies an enviable position among the 13 states in the human capital development map.

Mrs. Otti further reiterated the commitment of the present Government to the promotion of education.

According to her, the government has made it a crime for any child to be seen hawking or running errands during school hours, from January,2025.

In his speech, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Goodluck Ubochi, charged community leaders to own schools in their communities and protect them from vandalisation.

Ubochi urged school children in the state to take their education serious and study hard.

The Commissioner said that the State Government had made education free from primary to junior secondary school and provided funds for heads of schools to run the institutions.

Earlier, the Executive Chairman of Abia State Basic Education Board, (ASUBEB), Mrs. Lydia Onuoha, described the event as a welcome development.

Onuoha expressed delight over the fact that the government had taken the lead in the campaign for improving the standard of education.