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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Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has assured corps members deployed to the state of improved welfare and a supportive service year.
Okpebholo gave the assurance at the swearing-in ceremony of the 2026 Batch ‘A’ Stream I corps members last Friday at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Permanent Orientation Camp in Okada.
The Governor also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to youth empowerment, safety and entrepreneurship.
Represented by the Commissioner for Youth Affairs, Mrs. Charity Amayaenvbo, the Governor urged corps members to embrace innovation, community service and self-reliance rather than wait for white-collar jobs.
“Edo is committed to supporting youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and incentives that turn ideas into enterprises.
“Do not wait for jobs, create value. Wherever you are posted, serve your host community with humility, dedication and compassion.
“Have a positive footprint and let your service contribute to unity, productivity and progress,” he said.
Okpebholo assured the corps members that the state government was attentive to their welfare and had started addressing key concerns raised by the NYSC leadership.
“On behalf of the state government, I assure you of our support in terms of safety, an enabling environment and a rewarding service year.
“I listened carefully to the requests highlighted by the state coordinator, and I am glad to inform you that some of them have already been captured in the 2026 budget, which has been approved and signed into law,” he said.
The Governor noted that provisions for accommodation, meal subsidies, logistics and the construction of a multipurpose hall at the camp were included in the budget.
Earlier in her address, the Edo State Coordinator of the NYSC, Dr. Frances Ben-Ushie, described the ceremony as a reflection of the state government’s commitment to youth development and national integration.
Ben-Ushie said as of midnight on Thursday, a total of 1,235 prospective corps members, comprising 531 males and over 700 females, had been duly registered.
She congratulated the corps members on their enlistment into what she described as a “noble scheme,” urging them to embrace discipline, learning and active participation throughout the orientation course.
“The NYSC platform provides a unique avenue to meet people from diverse backgrounds, build lifelong friendships and create networks that can open doors to greater opportunities,” she said.
Ben-Ushie also highlighted the contributions of the NYSC to the state’s development, noting that the scheme had consistently provided skilled manpower, promoted labour mobility and strengthened national unity.
She cited initiatives such as the Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers and the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme as key interventions benefiting communities across the state.
The NYSC coordinator commended the state government for its support, including the provision of buses for corps members, and appealed for further intervention to address lingering operational challenges at the orientation camp.
She expressed confidence that resolving the issues would enhance the effectiveness of NYSC programmes in the state and thanked the Governor for prioritising the welfare, security and growth of corps members.
The Edo chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday condemned the state government’s reported plan to establish a state-owned airline.
The party, in a statement by its Edo State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Dan Osa-Ogbegie, described the proposal as a misplaced priority and evidence of poor, disconnected governance.
The Tide’s source reports that the State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, unveiled the airline plan during a meeting with Aviation Minister, Mr. Festus Keyamo, in Abuja.
Osa-Ogbegie said the proposal showed a government out of touch with the pressing challenges confronting Edo State residents.
“At a time of decaying infrastructure and stalled projects, establishing an airline is unrealistic and profoundly insensitive”, he said.
He argued that airlines were capital-intensive and technically demanding, noting that similar state-owned ventures in Nigeria had largely failed.
According to him, Benin has become a shadow of what a modern state capital should be.
He decried poor roads, collapsed urban planning, neglected drainage systems and weak municipal services across the state capital.
“This is a crying shame for a city of Benin’s history, heritage and enormous potential”, he said.
Osa-Ogbegie said several inherited projects had stalled or deteriorated, eroding investor confidence and undermining economic growth.
He accused the governor of pursuing “white elephant projects that offer optics without substance.”
He also cited ongoing flyover projects in parts of Benin as examples of poor prioritisation.
Against this background, he described the airline proposal as diversionary and lacking economic sense.
“When roads are barely motorable and services overstretched, proposing an airline betrays an absence of judgment,” he said.
He urged the government to abandon the plan and focus on people-centred priorities that would improve living conditions and spur growth.
“Edo does not need an airline to fly above its problems. It needs a government ready to confront them on the ground,” he said.
He warned that failure to refocus would deepen perceptions of an administration lacking direction, competence and a coherent development agenda.
Students of Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, Cross River State, have protested to the Governor’s Office in Calabar over an alleged plan to appoint a non-indigene as Rector for the institution.
Carrying placards with various inscriptions, the students demanded respect for catchment area policy, local content, and the appointment of an indigene of the state as Rector of the institution.
Speaking on behalf of the students in Calabar, Stephen Etem said the protest sought to alert the Federal and Cross River State Governments to an alleged deviation from the established rectorial selection process.
Etem said a Governing Council, chaired by Sen. Florence Ita-Giwa, was constituted by the Federal Government to conduct the Rector selection exercise.
“The screening, which began last year, reportedly produced a Cross River State indigene as highest scorer and recommended candidate.
“Information available to us suggests that the alleged recommended candidate’s name might be substituted at the Federal Ministry of Education.
“We urge the Federal Government to uphold the council’s recommendation because altering the process could threaten peace in the institution,” he noted.
Responding at the Government House, Mr. Goddie Akpama, the Special Adviser on Intelligence to the State Governor, Bassey Otu, appealed for calm, saying the Governor was away but would be briefed.
Akpama advised the students to submit written petitions through appropriate channels, avoid inflammatory language, and engage authorities to ensure stability and uninterrupted academic activities.
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