Otti Makes Poly Graduates  Entrepreneurs with N150m

Bonface Okoro in Umuahia

In his push to make Abia youths to become entrepreneurs, Governor Alex Otti, has given N150 million grant to 150 graduates of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, to enable them  start up their own businesses.

Rector of the polytechnic, Dr. Christopher Kalu Okoro, presented the cheques for the sum of N1 million to each of the beneficiaries yesterday  on behalf of the governor, during a pre-investment entrepreneurship training organised for them at the polytechnic’s auditorium.

Addressing the participants at the workshop organised under the auspices of Abia State Graduates Empowerment Programme, Dr. Okoro, charged the beneficiaries to invest the money wisely to be able to improve on their businesses and create job opportunities for others, adding that the essence of the grant was to make students to become  “The essence of this is to be able to make us better than we were before now. And then His Excellency also directed that we should be able to interface with persons in the informal sector so that you people can be able to be groomed and then be aligned to what you’re supposed to be,” the Rector said.

“This money is not for Brazilian hair, it’s not for Naija Bet.  It is expected that this money will grow and make you a bigger person so that tomorrow you can give back to the society,” he said, stressing that the money was not a loan. 

“His Excellency is not giving you a loan. This is grant for you to start up business and become better. This is the first time in the history of our country that the state government will be giving out such amount of money, not for political reasons, but to empower persons, and I think we owe him a lot,” Dr. Okoro said.

During the polytechnic’s convocation in 2024, Governor Otti promised to give N1 million grant to the 50 best graduating Higher National Diploma (HND) students per set from the 2021/2022, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 sets. 

The beneficiaries were required to do proposals in businesses they were interested in, which were vetted by a consultant.

The rector explained that the pre-investment entrepreneurship training was to guide the graduates to invest wisely before the grant is extended to them.

President of the Student Union Government of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic,  Comrade Ifeanyi Michael Maduka, said the  students were happy that the governor had redeemed his pledge, adding that the gesture would motivate students of the school to take their studies seriously.

Some beneficiaries, including Chukwuma Egwuatu, a graduate of Accountancy, Nwachukwu Cyril Emmanuel, a 2022 graduate of Business Administration and Management, who has a poultry business and Nduka Harmony, a Mass Communication graduate, said they would use the grant to expand their businesses and create job opportunities, while thanking the governor for making them entrepreneurs.