NEWS
Aba North Women Celebrate Empowerment, Economic Growth as LGA Hosts 2026 August Meeting
By @TheKELVINATOR, The Eyes Opener News | August 11, 2026
Women from across Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, gathered at Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, for the 2026 August Women Meeting, with a strong call for greater economic empowerment, education, entrepreneurship and sustained development.
The event, themed “Women of Abia: Empowered to Thrive,” brought together women leaders, government officials, traditional rulers’ wives, community representatives, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to celebrate the resilience of women while highlighting opportunities capable of improving their economic and social wellbeing.
In her welcome address, the Wife of the Mayor of Aba North Local Government Area, Mrs. Nina Iheke, warmly welcomed participants and expressed appreciation to the Wife of the Governor, Mrs. Priscilla Chidinma Otti, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Affairs, Hon. Mrs. Chinenye Nwaka, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Mrs. Maureen Ijeoma Aghukwa, and other dignitaries and women who attended the gathering.
Mrs. Iheke described the theme as a timely reminder that empowering women economically, socially, politically and educationally would strengthen families and communities.
She commended the administration of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, OFR, for creating opportunities for women to contribute meaningfully to the development of Abia State, while also paying tribute to Mrs. Priscilla Otti for her commitment to the welfare and dignity of women.
Particularly, she praised the Governor’s Wife for the Dignity Homes Initiative, which recently provided 35 fully furnished homes to indigent widows across the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.
According to her, Aba North was among the beneficiaries, with two deserving widows receiving fully furnished three-bedroom homes. She said the intervention had provided more than shelter, describing it as a restoration of “hope, dignity, security, and a renewed sense of belonging.”
Mrs. Iheke urged women to see empowerment as a responsibility, calling on them to support and mentor one another, embrace education, skills acquisition and entrepreneurship, promote peace in their homes and take advantage of opportunities provided by government and private organisations.
She ended her address with a rallying message to the women: “Together, let us rise, let us lead, and let us thrive.”
Representing the Wife of the Governor, Mrs. Priscilla Chidinma Otti, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Affairs, Hon. Mrs. Chinenye Nwaka, said the entrepreneurial spirit of Aba made the theme particularly relevant to women in Aba North. She noted that Aba North, home to Ariaria International Market and a major centre of commerce and industry, is powered by thousands of traders, artisans and entrepreneurs, many of them women.
According to her, women are not merely beneficiaries of development but important drivers of economic growth. She explained that empowering women to thrive means creating an environment where their talents, skills and hard work can translate into sustainable livelihoods across trade, manufacturing, agriculture, services and entrepreneurship.
She also highlighted the importance of infrastructure to women’s economic activities, noting that good roads in a commercial centre such as Aba translate into easier market access, faster business operations, increased productivity and improved income.
Mrs. Nwaka outlined several women-focused interventions associated with the Governor’s Wife, including the distribution of fertilizer to rural women farmers, the Safe Tent Care Initiative, the Ahiaoma Women Economic Empowerment Programme, and support for vulnerable women, widows and the elderly.
She disclosed that more than 600 women across the 17 Local Government Areas had recently received grants to strengthen their small businesses.
She stressed that the objective was not simply to provide temporary relief but to help women expand businesses, acquire better equipment, gain relevant skills and build sustainable enterprises.
“When you empower a woman, you strengthen a family, a business, and ultimately, a community,“ she said.
The Governor’s Wife’s representative also urged the women of Aba North to sustain their support for the administration, particularly as the 2027 governorship election approaches. She called on them to come out in large numbers to vote, stressing that their votes would help determine whether the development trajectory of Abia State would continue.
She described women as traders, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, artisans, professionals, mothers and community builders, urging them to continue to “trade, create, innovate, and produce.”
Earlier, the keynote speaker, Mrs. Chinedu Treasure Ogba, PhD, speaking on “Education and Entrepreneurship: Pathways to Empowerment for the Abia Woman to Thrive,” identified education and entrepreneurship as critical tools for the growth, independence and self-actualisation of Abia women.
She described Abia women as resilient, hardworking, creative, enterprising and determined, noting their significant contributions to their families and communities despite various challenges.
However, she cautioned that determination alone was no longer enough in a rapidly changing world.
She said women also need education, practical skills, access to opportunities, digital knowledge and entrepreneurial capacity to move from being beneficiaries of opportunities to becoming creators of opportunities.
According to Dr Ogba, education equips women with critical thinking, informed decision-making, knowledge of their rights, professional and vocational skills, technological competence and confidence.
She added that entrepreneurship provides a platform for women to transform their talents and knowledge into sustainable businesses in areas such as agriculture, fashion, catering, beauty, trading, ICT, education, manufacturing, creative industries and digital businesses.
She emphasised that the greatest impact comes when education and entrepreneurship are combined, enabling women to progress from learning and skills acquisition to innovation, business creation, income generation, job creation and community development.
Dr Ogba urged Abia women to embrace digital opportunities, continuously acquire new skills, identify problems they can solve and create value for themselves and their communities.
She also called on government to sustain the provision of an enabling environment, training, financing and infrastructure, while urging women to actively identify and utilise available opportunities.
She concluded that the future of the Abia woman should be defined by possibilities rather than limitations, noting that education opens the mind, entrepreneurship creates economic opportunities, skills build confidence, technology expands markets, networking strengthens capacity, while determination keeps women moving forward.
She commended the Otti administration for creating platforms for women to thrive and urged women to support the government, obtain their Permanent Voter Cards and ensure their votes count.
Also speaking, the Executive Mayor of Aba North Local Government Area, Hon. Timothy Kalu Iheke, welcomed the women and applauded them for their resilience and unity.
The Mayor said he was pleased to once again join the women of Aba North for another August Women Meeting, while expressing gratitude for those who were present despite the absence of some women who had attended the previous year’s gathering.
He announced a fresh empowerment initiative targeted at women groups across the council area, promising that, henceforth, 10 women from each of more than 20 women groups in Aba North would benefit from his empowerment programme.
His announcement generated excitement among participants as the meeting continued its focus on practical ways of improving the economic wellbeing of women.
Speaking on the empowerment initiative, the Labour Party candidate for Aba North State Constituency, Mrs. Ijeoma Florence Ehuchie, commended the Wife of the Governor for her benevolent women empowerment initiatives.
She also appreciated the Wife of the Mayor of Aba North for her hard work and commitment to improving the wellbeing of women in the council area.
In his closing remarks, the Member representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency, Rep. Alexander Mascot Ikwechegh (Onyeocha N’Aba), represented by Rtn. George Ezikpe Okiyi, commended Governor Alex Otti for what he described as the administration’s good works in Aba.
He urged the women to take the message of the August Meeting back to their respective wards and mobilise their communities.
According to him, one of the ways the people could appreciate the Governor’s development efforts would be by supporting his administration at the polls in 2027.
One of the major highlights of the event was the empowerment of women with sewing machines, providing beneficiaries with practical tools to strengthen their skills and livelihoods.
The gathering also featured colourful cultural displays, including traditional dances and march-past, adding a vibrant cultural dimension to the celebration.
The event was attended by the Mayor of Aba South LGA, Hon. Obialor Denis Anyanwu; the Deputy Mayor of Aba North LGA, Hon. Christian Chijioke Ogbuisi; the Special Assistant to the Governor on Vulnerable Groups and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Mrs. Ifeoma Thomas; Abia State Deputy Chairman of the Labour Party, Apostle Eucharia Nkeiruka Ibe; Board Member of the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC), Mrs. Bertha Ehumadu, Aba North Councillors, as well as the wives of the Mayors of Aba South, Obingwa, Osisioma, Ohafia and Ugwunagbo Local Government Areas, among other dignitaries.
The 2026 Aba North August Women Meeting ultimately served as both a celebration of womanhood and a platform for renewed commitments to economic empowerment, education, entrepreneurship and inclusive development.
With women repeatedly urged to move from surviving to thriving, the central message of the gathering was unmistakable: an empowered woman is not only stronger herself, she becom
es a force for stronger families, stronger businesses and a stronger Abia State.