Headlines
We’ve Plans to Recruit 4000 Additional Teachers for Abia Schools – Gov Otti
Abia State governor, Alex Otti, has revealed has revealed plans to recruit additional 4,000 teachers to raise the teaching workforce to 9,394.in the State’s primary and secondary schools.
The governor disclosed this during the June edition of his media chat, dubbed Governor Alex Otti speaks to Abians”, held on Thursday night at the Government House, Umuahia.
He said that the 5,394 first set of teachers already recruited would be deployed after their ongoing orientation in Aba and Umuahia.
According to him, the next set of recruitment will happen immediately after this orientation.
“We expect that the portal will be opened and applications will be received,” he said.
Otti said that the idea was to prepare the schools for the next academic session, given the massive enrollment witnessed since the introduction of free and compulsory education.
The government, in January, introduced free and compulsory education from primary one to junior secondary school.
The policy is to ensure that every child in Abia, regardless of their state of origin, had access to education up to the junior secondary school.
Otti emphasised the need to prepare and ensure quality teachers for primary and secondary schools across the State.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to continue with the renovation of schools, including the tertiary institutions.
“In addition to the renovation, we are converting 20 schools into smart schools and work is already ongoing,” he said.
The governor also spoke on the government’s activities in the health sector.
He gave assurance that the ongoing renovation of 200 primary healthcare centres across the 17 local government areas of the State would soon be completed and that most of them were ready for use.
“The type of equipment you are expecting to see in the developed countries are already in Abia and we are not opening them without equipping them properly,” he said.
Otti, who highlighted some of his administration’s achievements in other sectors, including security, road infrastructure, sanitation and others, urged the residents to join hands with the administration in building a new Abia.
FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.
Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.
“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.
“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.
There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.
“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.
AFP
Iran, on Wednesday, shut the Strait of Hormuz following fresh Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, raising fears that a fragile ceasefire with the United States could collapse less than a day after it was reached.
The closure comes amid renewed hostilities that have cast doubt over efforts to halt more than a month of fighting. While both Iran and the United States had earlier declared victory after brokering the truce, fresh missile and drone attacks were reported across Iran and parts of the Gulf, alongside intensified Israeli bombardments in Lebanon.
In Beirut, Israeli strikes hit residential and commercial areas without prior warning, leaving at least multiple people dead and many others injured in what has been described as one of the deadliest days of the conflict.
Iranian state media confirmed the closure, with IRNA reporting that the move was taken “in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.” The development has heightened concerns over the stability of the ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States.
Authorities in Iran also imposed strict controls on maritime movement in the strategic waterway. Ships near the strait were instructed to seek permission from Sepah, a special operations unit under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, before passage. A radio message cited by The Wall Street Journal warned that any vessel attempting to cross without approval “will be destroyed.”
Earlier in the day, Iran had indicated a willingness to reopen the strait during the proposed two-week ceasefire, noting this would be done with “coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.” U.S. officials, meanwhile, said American forces could assist in managing ship traffic, although details remain unclear.
U.S. President Donald Trump also told ABC News he was open to a “joint venture” arrangement with Iran that would involve charging tolls for vessels passing through the strait.
However, reports of ceasefire breaches soon emerged. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who played a role in negotiating the agreement, said on X that violations had already been recorded, further deepening uncertainty over whether the truce will hold.
The Presidency has come up with reasons behind President Bola Tinubu’s absent at the commissioning of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s projects in Lagos, on Wednesday.
Tinubu was noticeably absent at the scheduled project commissioning in Lagos, sparking public curiosity.
However, Sunday Dare, his Special Adviser on Public Communications and Orientation, has clarified the reason behind the last-minute development.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Dare revealed that the President had to prioritise urgent national security matters over the event.
According to him, although Tinubu is currently in Lagos, he has been deeply engaged in high-level State duties, particularly ongoing security briefings tied to recent developments across the country.
“The president has been busy taking constant briefs and has to prioritise when it comes to state matters, especially security,” Dare stated.
He referenced rising security concerns, including recent unrest linked to incidents in Jos, noting that the President has been closely monitoring the situation and working directly with intelligence agencies.
Dare emphasised that Tinubu remains fully engaged behind the scenes, actively coordinating with security operatives and receiving continuous updates to address emerging threats.
The absence, he stressed, should not be seen as neglect of official duties but rather a reflection of the President’s focus on safeguarding national stability at a critical time.
Tinubu skipped the Lagos commissioning not out of disregard, but to handle pressing security issues demanding immediate presidential attention.
