Governor, Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State yesterday signed the Bayelsa State Medical University Establishment Bill and two others to ensure training of medical personnel, companies to support development, and to urge the people in line with the new Bayelsa plan.
The bills are Medical University Establishment, Corporate Social Responsibility and New Yenagoa City Development.
Dickson, who signed the bill in Yenagoa, said its necessitated to train medical personnel that would deliver quality health service in the hospitals built in the eight LGAs, assuring that the New Yenagoa City Development Agency bills would accelerate the transformation of the 350 Melford Okilo Memorial Hospital as a teaching hospital.
He said plans are on to construct a classroom block, in addition to an administrative block to make it more befitting, noting that, the facility would be completed before the end of his tenure to address both primary and tertiary healthcare needs of the people.
According to him, “the facility will now be used, not just as a hospital, but as a teaching hospital to train students. We believe that would be an optimal way of utilising that wonderful facility into which so much money has been sunk.
‘’The state would soon become a centre of excellence for medical health that would be visited by Nigerians and foreign nationals.”
The Governor, who picked holes in the attitude of some companies in the state, averred that the Corporate Social targeted at corporate bodies to ensure that they contribute a percentage of their budget to enable us expand the scope of support we are giving to provide affordable healthcare delivery as well as quality education to our children.”
On the New Yenagoa City Development Agency Law, Dickson said that the legislation would serve as a catalyst in driving his administration’s vision of building a new Bayelsa, where development activities would be controlled in line with best practices.
Dickson noted that his administration has spent about N200 billion in providing world class infrastructure in Yenagoa, the State capital, including the construction of roads and bridges, Governor’s office complex, adding that, a second flyover bridge would have been constructed at the Tombia- Etegwe area, if it had not been for the economic recession.
“In the state capital, all dualized roads were done by the restoration government, close to N200 billion has been spent, excluding the new yenagoa city which is most ambitious real estate development that any government can undertake, therefore be enlightened to jettison the propaganda spurned by people envious of the achievements of our government.”

Austin Pade, Yenagoa