Abia State Governor Alex Otti and Abia State Commissioner for Information Okey Kanu unveiled a week-long programme for Abia’s 35th anniversary in Umuahia, with project commissioning, new project flag-offs, a youth technology showcase and a keynote lecture forming the centrepiece of the celebrations.

The programme, announced at Government House, Umuahia, is designed to combine reflection on the state’s history with a public display of ongoing development efforts under Otti’s administration.

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The celebrations will begin on Sunday, August 23, with an interdenominational thanksgiving service at the Trade More Event Centre, located within the Nnenna Oti Bus Terminal premises in Umuahia.

On Tuesday, August 25, Otti is expected to commission completed projects and flag off new ones across the state.

The government has positioned the activities as part of its broader effort to demonstrate progress through infrastructure and public projects.

The following day, Wednesday, August 26, will shift attention towards young people, with a Youth Innovation Day featuring a hackathon and technology exhibition.

The initiative gives the anniversary a contemporary dimension, placing technology and youth creativity alongside the traditional commemorative activities.

The celebrations will reach their formal climax on Thursday, August 27, the exact date Abia State was created in 1991.

The day will begin with a state broadcast by Otti, followed later by an anniversary keynote lecture.

Kanu said the keynote lecture would provide an opportunity to examine Abia’s development journey from its creation to the present day.

“Finally, on Thursday, the 27th of August, the very day the state was created, the Governor will make a state broadcast in the morning. Later that morning, there will be an anniversary keynote lecture,” Kanu said.

Abia was created on August 27, 1991, from the former Imo State during the administration of the then military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida. Umuahia became the state capital, while Aba developed as its major commercial centre.

The 35th anniversary therefore offers an opportunity for the state to look beyond ceremonial celebrations and consider how its economic, social and institutional journey has evolved over more than three decades.

The anniversary programme also comes against the backdrop of several initiatives by the Otti administration, including efforts to improve housing, health services, digital skills and infrastructure.

The government has recently announced plans to rehabilitate the World Bank Housing Estates in Aba and Umuahia as part of efforts to improve living conditions.

Alongside the anniversary plans, the state government is also responding to a more immediate humanitarian concern involving Abians returning from South Africa.

Kanu said Otti had directed the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection to establish whether other Abians remained stranded in South Africa and determine how they could be assisted.

The move follows the government’s approval of N1 million each for 31 verified Abia indigenes who recently returned from South Africa. The intervention amounts to N31 million in interim support.

The state government said the financial assistance was intended to help the returnees cope with the immediate difficulties associated with their return, while a broader profiling exercise is being conducted to establish their individual needs and support their reintegration.

The development adds a human-interest element to a week otherwise centred on state history, infrastructure and innovation.

It also reflects the administration’s stated intention to combine development programmes with social protection measures.

As Abia approaches August 27, the anniversary is consequently being framed not simply as a celebration of the state’s past, but as a moment to assess its present direction and the ambitions shaping its next phase.

The presence of project commissioning, youth innovation and historical reflection in the programme suggests an attempt to connect Abia’s 35-year journey with the priorities of its younger population and the practical demands of development.

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With the anniversary keynote expected to examine the state’s trajectory since 1991, the celebrations will provide a timely platform for Abians to reflect on how far the state has travelled and what remains to be achieved.