The governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has announced that the state legislature will soon decide to raise the retirement age for nurses in the state from sixty to sixty-five years.
Otti made this statement on Friday during his monthly interactive session with journalists at Government House, Umuahia.
He claimed that the action was a component of the government’s determination to modernize the health system, which is one of his administration’s top priorities.
He said that teachers’ retirement age had already been raised by the government from 60 to 65 years old.
The governor added that plans to establish a cutting-edge medical city had been finalized by the government.
Otti stated that the project’s committee had been formed and the site had been decided upon.
In order to carry out the project, he stated that the government would work with the organizations Extended Hands and Lifted Hands, two groups that organize international medical missions.
“We are committing everything to it because it is going to be one of our signature projects.
“The whole idea is to reverse medical tourists into Abia,” Otti said.
He further said that the government under his watch had so far been able to operate without borrowing any money.
According to him, the government has quite a few offers that are tempting “and we believe that at the appropriate time, we will access them.”
“We are working on African Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank Group facilities.
“The terms are generous and we believe that when we need them; we will be able to access any of them.
“I can say that the state of the state is healthy, but we will continue to keep our eye on the ball,” the governor said.
He also discussed the meager progress that has been made thus far in a number of state industries, including agriculture.
He declared that the plantations growing palm, rubber, cocoa, and other crops that had been granted to private owners by earlier governments had been successfully reclaimed by the government.
The governor encouraged the people of the state to continue their support in order to construct a new Abia and thanked them for it.
NAN.
