The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has offered a N200 million support to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Bayelsa State.

Leader of the UNDP team, Joyce Oboro, who presented a cheque to Governor Douye Diri at the Government House in Yenagoa on Monday, said the objective of the initiative, which was co-sponsored by the European Union, is to mitigate the effect of the current socio-economic challenges through the empowerment of medium and small businesses across various sectors.

She said the components of the programme include financial support and capacity building while the cluster-based approach will be adopted to achieve set objectives.

Expressing the optimism that the project will stimulate economic growth and improve the standard of living of Bayelsans, Oboro urged well-meaning groups and individuals to key into the project.

Governor Douye Diri, in his remarks, welcomed the partnership between the government and the UNDP to develop MSMEs in the state.

The Bayelsa governor expressed delight over the partnership and said his administration was already doing a lot in developing and supporting MSMEs.

He said in line with the prosperity mantra of his administration, the government had trained many Bayelsans and empowered them with starter packs as well as offered grants of N200,000 monthly to 420 small business owners across the 105 wards as part of its effort to encourage small businesses.

He assured the UNDP delegation that the state will play its role in the partnership, insisting that whatever will add value to the lives of Bayelsans his administration will take it seriously.

The state helmsman equally acknowledged the support of the UNDP when Bayelsa battled a terrible flood in 2022, describing the organisation as a true friend of the state.

He said: “For us as an administration, our mantra has been shared prosperity. Our people have to prosper in all aspects of their lives. So we are very happy to meet development-oriented organisations like yours.

“Let me acknowledge the UNDP for its support to our people during the flood in 2022. We have been partners.

“Going forward, I believe we will have a robust relationship with you. We are very well prepared to partner and play our role to ensure we attract whatever is due to us.

“In Bayelsa, we started a programme three years ago and gave out grants to encourage small businesses. We paid N200,000 each to 420 SMEs monthly across the 105 wards in the state until the end of our first tenure. Now we want to evaluate the level of success of the scheme.

“I am happy with the aspect of capacity building, training and mentorship. As a government, we have been doing that and after training we also give them starter packs. So you are coming to an area we consider a priority.

“It is good to build other infrastructure but the human beings to manage them is more important. That is why as a government we are taking it seriously and I believe that this is one partnership that will bring succour to our people.”

Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, on Monday, signed the Medical Residency Training Law 2024, making it the first state in Nigeria with such beneficial law for resident doctors.

The executive bill sent to the Bayelsa State House of Assembly provides for funding support for resident doctors to specialise in specific fields.

The governor commended the House of Assembly for giving the bill accelerated hearing, considering its importance.

He said his administration had always prioritised the welfare of its workers and will continue to provide the enabling environment for resident doctors whose profession is threatened by brain drain.

The Bayelsa helmsman, who expressed delight that Bayelsa was the first state with such a law, promised that every aspect of the new legislation will be implemented.

He said: “I know this is one area that our unionists have been very interested in. Every meeting they have had with me, this issue was tabled and I promised to do something about it.

“I am happy that this went as an executive bill to the state assembly and the assembly expeditiously attended to it, knowing its importance.

“This government prioritises the welfare of our workers. If our workers in the medical profession see this law as something that must be attended to and we agreed with them for the benefit of the larger society, today we have put pen to paper and it is now a law.”

He appreciated the medical unions for demanding for what would enhance the status of resident doctors and the whole of society.

In his remarks, the Majority Leader of the House of Assembly, Monday Obolo-Bubou, said the legislature saw the importance of the bill as a legislation that will boost the performance of health workers in the state and gave it speedy passage.

He explained that the law will build the capacity of resident doctors that embark on regular training to equip the manpower for better service delivery to patients.

Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Dr. Oyinke Godbless, also told Government House correspondents that by the law, more surgeons, anaesthetists and specialist doctors would emerge as a result of the funding the state government would channel into the medical sector.

The Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, has tasked the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, to resolve the epileptic power supply in the state.

According to a statement by the spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, this was made known when Adeleke met the managing director of IBEDC in Ibadan, Oyo State Capital.

Adeleke described Osun as a critical stakeholder in the Nigerian power sector, with Osogbo hosting the National Transmission Control Centre.

He said it is unacceptable that the state will have an epileptic power supply, which the governor stressed has been affecting the local economy and businesses badly.

He added that Osun State will soon set up its own regulatory agency to address the power sector’s challenges.

“As a government, we are already working to enact the Osun Electricity System Law. We will be setting up a power sector regulatory agency. We will introduce off-grid options and widen alternative energy sources,” the governor said.

In his reaction, the Managing Director of IBEDC, Mr Kingsley Achiefe, lauded Governor Adeleke for the interaction, noting that the firm is also ready to collaborate with the Osun State Government to serve their customers better.

According to him, the epileptic power supply in Osun State was caused by the drop in power generation.

He said that out of the 1600 megawatts of electricity required to power Osun State, the firm currently receives less than 400 megawatts of energy from the generation companies.

Consequently, Governor Adeleke set up a committee whose membership includes Commissioner for Energy, Festus Adeyemo; Commissioner for Finance, Shola Ogungbile; Commissioner for Rural Development, Alhaji Gani Olaoluwa; Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Power; Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Hezekiah Olabamiji; and the representative of the private sector, Tayo Adegbemle, who is an energy analyst.

The Presidential Amnesty Office has said that it has paid the N65,000 stipends for the month of March to its beneficiaries.

The Office said in a statement on Saturday that the stipends were paid to all the beneficiaries through their listed bank accounts within the week.

The PAP stated that it has become necessary to provide this explanation in view of calls from delegates, inundating the office of non payment or delay in the payment of the stipends.

The Office explained that the apparent delay in receiving the credit alert for the payment for the month of March might not be unconnected with glitches associated with some of the banks.

It noted that the fact that so many delegates have received the stipends is a clear testament to the fact that the stipends have been paid.

It stressed further that it is the standard practice of the PAP to ensure that all such monies are paid to all delegates at the same time.

The statement called on the beneficiaries and stakeholders to exercise patience as the affected financial institutions are dealing with these unforeseen development.

The management noted that the office under the leadership of Dr Dennis Otuaro, would do all to ensure prompt payment of stipends to beneficiaries.

The statement assured that stipends of beneficiaries are not delayed even as the management counts on all delegates and stakeholders for support.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday received the new Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro.

The former President advised Otuaro to focus attention on the education scholarship under the programme to benefit more people in the region.

Dr. Jonathan spoke while playing host to Otuaro who was on a consultative visit to him in his Abuja residence.

Dr. Jonathan urged Otuaro to ensure that the programme is taken back to the region to expose more people to the impact of the Federal Government in the region.

The former President also emphasized the importance of women empowerment as part of the efforts to deepen peace in the region.

The Administrator, Dr. Otuaro, who spoke earlier, said that he visited the former President to consult him and to avail himself the benefit of his fatherly advice.

He thanked the former President for his uncommon contribution to peace and development not just in the Niger Delta but also the entire country.

He assured the former President that the PAP under his leadership would not deviate from the original plan to sustain peace and development in the Niger Delta region.

He stressed that the Office would devote the expected attention to the areas of education, women empowerment, and peace building and others which were highlighted by the former President.

He thanked the former President for the time and attention promising to consult respected elders in the region from time to time in the interest of peace, stability and economic growth.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress and former governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Friday, said the  Kano State Government does not have the legal rights to prosecute him for the alleged bribery of $413,000 and N1.38billion. 

Ganduje mentioned this in a statement issued on Friday, maintaining that it was only the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that could charge him for the alleged offences.

The former governor therefore urged the incumbent governor, Yusuf Abba, to focus on bringing good governance to his people instead of embarking “on a futile attempt” to drag his name in the mud.

His Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, added that the bribery allegation was a “unfortunate and sorry attempt” to divert attention away from the fact that the governor had nothing on the ground in the state to justify the massive allocations he had received since President Bola Tinubu’s administration began. 

Ganduje claimed that the move was the latest attempt by the state administration to smear his name, and that it also demonstrated the governor’s “crass ignorance and disrespect for the rule of law.”

He said, “In their desperate attempt to malign me and my family, they either forgot or probably cannot conduct themselves by the dictates of the law. They failed to take judicial notice of the recent pronouncement of the Federal High Court in Kano, which ruled that the so-called offence I am being accused of is a federal offence that can only be prosecuted by the Attorney General of the Federation and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“Rather than join issues with my traducers in Kano over the trumped-up charges levelled against me, I would implore them to redirect their energies towards easing the plights of our people in Kano.

“They still have the opportunity to revert to my blueprint for the sustainable growth and development of Kano State. It is not yet late in the day for them to emulate my developmen- tal strides. They can still salvage the situation as my tenure was devoid of any wrongdoing.” Continuing, the APC chairman admonished that it would have been in the best interest of the state to extend the deadline of the probe to flag off from 1999 to date.

“As the saying goes, he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. It shouldn’t be seen as targeted at my administration alone. It should not be seen to be borne out of malice, vindictiveness, and ill will. It should be for public good and interest.

“We conducted the affairs of governance in the state openly and transparently during my tenure. We don’t need to be seeking direction from our masters to do what is proper,” he stressed.