Niger Delta
Diri Task Medical Institutions On Brain Drain … As TETFUND Team Visits Bayelsa
The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has called on health institutions in Nigeria to look into modern trends in medical science such as biomedical engineering and emergency medicine as a means of stemming brain drain in the health sector.
He made the call on Thursday when the Ministerial Monitoring Committee of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) High+Impact Intervention in Medical Sciences paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Yenagoa.
Represented by his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the Governor described the subsisting medical practice in the country as still very traditional, saying that the country can achieve better healthcare delivery with the right political will and commitment from all relevant stakeholders.
He noted that injecting biomedical engineering and emergency medicine into medical institutions and improving medical infrastructure would dissuade many highly qualified medical professionals from leaving the country in search of greener pastures elsewhere.
Underscoring the importance of health and education, Governor Diri said his administration would not relent in injecting more resources into the two sectors with a view to improving the living standards of the people.
While expressing gratitude to the Minister of Education, and the Executive Secretary of the TETFUND for its intervention project at the Bayelsa Medical University (BMU), he assured the agency and other stakeholders of the state’s readiness for collaboration to improve infrastructure across all tertiary institutions in the state.
“We are quite excited and we extend our appreciation and gratitude to the Minister of Education, and the Executive Secretary of the TETFUND for looking towards our direction.
“We have been looking for partnerships such as this to enable us do better. We are happy you are focused on an area we have a challenge. And I think that challenge is both self-imposed and exacerbated by greed in our country. But we are happy with what you are doing to retain health manpower in the country.
“Again, I think we should start looking at modern trends in medicine. In my opinion, we are still very traditional in our medical practice. There are new areas in medicine like biomedical engineering, which is an area we really need to look at.
“We’ve CT Scan, MRI and the rest of them, yet we don’t have the biomedical engineers needed to fix these equipment, we will not achieve the desired progress in our health sector.
“Then, we also have emergency medicine. If we inject these two areas into our current practice, it will give us the latitude to take care of a lot of people who would be swallowed up by the offering we will be giving”, Diri stated.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the TETFUND Ministerial Monitoring team to the state, Professor Saad Ahmed, said the special high-impact project for the revitalization of medical schools was initiated by the Federal Government as part of efforts to address the steady emigration of health workers from the country.
Ahmed, who is the Chief Medical Director at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, explained that one of the strategies to stem the brain drain in the health sector was to increase the production of the needed manpower, adding that funds had been allocated to 18 medical schools across the country for that purpose..
He further explained that the funds were meant to provide infrastructure and equipment with special focus on medicine, dentistry, nursing sciences, and pharmacy, assuring that a separate fund would soon be made available for hostel accommodation.
Other members of the TETFUND team were the Director of Physical Infrastructure Department, Mr. Y.M. Ashuru, and the Deputy Director, Dr. Yusuf Gamawa, accompanied by the Vice Chancellor, Bayelsa Medical University, (BMU), Professor Dimie Ogoina, and top management team of the institution.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
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The Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Mr. Monday Agbonika, has vowed to hunt down and bring to justice those behind the killing of eight NSCDC operatives in the State.
Agbonika gave the assurance on Tuesday during an on-the-spot assessment of the attack scene, which also involved the abduction of a Chinese national.
Describing the incident as “a dastardly act that will not go unpunished”, the Commissioner expressed condolences to the Edo State Command of the NSCDC.
He paid tribute to the fallen operatives, describing them as “gallant personnel who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty.”
“We stand in solidarity with the NSCDC in this grief. Their sacrifice will not be in vain, and Edo people should expect justice”, Agbonika said.
In a separate meeting with Chinese community members at BUA Cement, Okpella, the police chief assured that efforts were ongoing to rescue the abducted expatriate alive.
“Our men are on the ground, and operations have been intensified. We are determined to rescue the kidnapped victim and prevent further incidents in the area”, he said.
Agbonika appealed for calm among residents, urging cooperation through timely and credible intelligence to aid ongoing security operations.
“Security is a collective responsibility. We call on residents to support us with information. Together, we will defeat criminals threatening Edo’s peace”, he added.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and properties, stressing that it would not relent until the attackers were arrested and justice delivered.
The Tide’s source reports that the Okpella attack occurred on Friday.
The Police Command in Delta State has arrested a suspected female illicit drugs dealer in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state.
The command’s Spokesman, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Warri on Wednesday.
Edafe said the suspect was nabbed alongside her three apprentices on August 29 by the police operatives attached to the Ughelli Area Command.
He said the operatives carried out the raid following credible information on the activities of some individuals that indulged in the sale of illicit drugs within Afisere/Ughelli town.
“The operatives trailed and arrested a drug baron who operates a chemist store in Afisere Community alongside three of her apprentices.
“The suspect led the operatives to her house at Afisere and a search warrant was executed.
“Exhibits recovered from the suspects included: 355 bottles of CSC codeine, 57 rolls of 50MG tramadol capsules, 335 rolls of 100mg tramadol capsules.
“Others were: 33 rolls of 200mg super royal, seven backwoods, 540 sachets of swinol capsules and 16 cups of Canadian liquid cannabis”, he said.
The police spokesman said investigation further revealed that the suspect was a major dealer in illicit drugs in Ughelli and its environs.
Edafe added that investigation in the matter was ongoing.
The Cross River State House of Assembly has extended the suspension of the Bekwarra Council Chairman, Ms. Theresa Ushie, to 90 days.
Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Elvert Ayambem, made the remark on Wednesday during plenary.
The Tide’s source recalls that Ushie was suspended on June 10 for three months on allegations of corruption, misconduct and abuse of power.
The suspension followed a petition from the Bekwarra Local Government Legislative Council, signed by eight of its members, who also attempted to impeach her.
Ayambem explained that the extension was to allow the House Committee on Judiciary, Public Service Matters, Public Petitions and Conflict Resolution more time to investigate the petition written against the chairman by the Bekwarra Legislature.
The House had earlier deliberated on a motion calling for the extension of the office of the LGA Acting Chairman, Mr. Egbung Obama, before agreeing to extend Ushie’s suspension.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Investigative Committee and member, representing Abi State Constituency, Mr. Davies Etta, said the committee needed more time to carry out a thorough investigation.
Ushie was elected as Bekwarra Local Government Council Chairman and sworn-in in November 2024.
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