The Abia State Government (ABSG) has approved the implementation of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for local government workers in the state.
This was revealed by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, on Monday, at Government House, Umuahia, while briefing the press on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting, chaired by Governor Alex Otti, stating that the approval of CONHESS is part of the ongoing reforms in the state civil service.
“The state government continues to prioritize the welfare of workers and the conditions of service of its workforce. This commendable move makes Abia State one of the few states in the country that pays the federal government the Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS,” he said.
He revealed that the functionalization of the second batch of 52 renovated and equipped primary health care centers (PHCs) is underway across the state and stated: “This brings the total number of functionalized primary health care centers to 102. The remaining 98 primary health care centers will be fully renovated and equipped before the end of the year.
“In the same vein, 50 or more of the World Bank’s 79 primary health care centers will be completely renovated and equipped by the end of the year. Similarly, by the end of the year, a total of 250 or more primary health care centers are expected to have been completely renovated and equipped for use by Abians in the state.”
The Commissioner further announced that the state government is collaborating with world-class hospitals in Sweden and other global health institutions on a series of medical outreach programs in the state, noting: “Some of the outreach programs are as follows. The first one is the one involving the Ministry and ProHealth International. That medical outreach will start on the 16th of this month and will end on the 22nd of the month.
“The second outreach involves Abia Diaspora Medical Outreach Group and will take place between December 12 and 19, 2025. The third is AMPA Abia Medical Outreach and will take place in April 2026. The last but not least is the one involving Abia State and Swedish Global Health Outreach.”
He reported that the recruitment portal for the hiring of health workers has been reopened, reporting that there are vacancies for ophthalmologists, doctors, dentists, as well as part-time and full-time consultants. He also informed that the construction of three specialized hospitals is underway in the state and noted that a review of the ongoing construction works and the size of the three specialized hospitals was recently carried out to ensure upgrading of the hospitals’ facilities to world-class standards.
According to him, the state governor, Alex Otti, directed that the solar energy project at the SDG Hospital located in Ugwunagbo become operational immediately within the week, adding that with the directive, both hospital staff and patients would experience 247 lights in the future.
The Light Up Abia initiative, the Commissioner said, has continued to make progress, adding that the installation of a 300 kVA-0.35 kVA transformer substation is underway, while the study for the Ohafia layout of the 33 kVA line from Ihechiowa to Asaga, Ohafia, covering a distance of 27.69 km, is also underway.
Prince Kanu assured that Dr. Alex Otti’s administration will not issue any changes in terms of land acquired for projects, highlighting that any land acquired by the government will be used for the project for which it was acquired.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, said the government needed to confirm the exact number of health workers in the LGAs before granting approval to CONHESS, saying CONHESS has now removed any dichotomy in health workers, stating: “If this serves to boost the morale of workers, His Excellency has done so.”
For the continued recruitment of health workers, Prof. Uche noted that about 500 nurses are in the process of documentation and have been recruited through the transparent process of the state government.