The Abia State government has announced that schools in the state will resume for the 2024/2025 academic year on Wednesday, September 23.

The announcement followed the earlier postponement of the resumption of the 2024/2025 academic year in Edo and Kano states.

The state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting, which Governor Alex Otti presided over.

He said the development was due to the public holiday on Monday, September 16, the earlier resumption date.

The commissioner also disclosed that the state’s first teachers’ training programme would continue from September 11 to 20, to cover the remaining 1,800 master trainers.

The PUNCH reported that 200 teachers were trained last week out of the 2,000 master trainers scheduled for training in the state.

Kanu revealed that the training programme was part of a wider agenda of the state government to reposition the education sector and formed part of the protocol for the resumption of school for the 2024/2025 academic year.

He said, “It will be recalled that 200 teachers were trained last week, and this time around, the training will be held in three locations in the state, including Aba, Umuahia and Ohafia zones.”

The state information boss disclosed that Abia had been selected as one of the six states to participate in an international medical symposium in Ghana.

He stated that the symposium tagged Human Capital Opportunity for Prosperity and Equity was an initiative of the World Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria to boost healthcare delivery.

Kanu further said the light-up Abia initiative of the state government would continue to spread to other parts of the state beyond Umuahia, Aba and Ohafia towns.

“So far 4,346 solar panels have been installed across 86 locations in the state, in line with the need to make our towns and cities comfortable for residents and visitors, while also improving the security situation across the state. The project will continue until every part of the state is lit up,” he said.

The Commissioner for Power and Public Utility, Mr Ikechukwu Monday, announced that the state electricity bill had scaled the second reading in the state House of Assembly.

“We have been working on the bill and when it’s passed into law, it will give us the mandate to establish the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority. It will also give us the mandate to establish the Abia State Rural Electrification Agency.

“We also considered other sources of energy, including renewable energy and hydrogen sources for future generation of electricity. The bill is all-encompassing,” he said.