Yesterday, I had the honour of celebrating the graduation of 850 young innovators from TechRise Cohort 3. These brilliant minds have completed intensive ICT training and are now equipped to shape Abia’s digital future. To encourage their excellent performance, I have: * Approved automatic employment into the State Civil Service for the 19 best-graduating students. * Directed that all 850 graduands receive ₦100,000 each. * Gifted them the laptops used during training, now theirs to keep. Beyond these, I have instructed our ministries to integrate TechRise talents into government ICT projects, ensuring their skills directly improve public service delivery. A special salary structure for ICT professionals in the civil service will also be introduced. I urge our graduands to remain committed to continuous learning. The greatest reward of the programme is the knowledge and skills they now possess. Use them to build businesses, create innovations, and uplift society—not for harmful purposes. I am particularly proud of the team that developed a functional drone. We will support them in moving this innovation from concept to commercial reality. Finally, we are working to establish international-standard ICT certification centres in Abia and expand internet access across the state in partnership with MTN. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our graduands, once again. You are the true architects of our collective future.