Bayelsa: First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, has assured that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is committed to delivering accessible and affordable infrastructure to rural communities in the Niger Delta region. She expressed this commitment during the inauguration of access to health insurance services for poor and vulnerable people and the commissioning of the Cottage Hospital and Community School.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the event was organized by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in collaboration with the Renewed Hope Initiative in Otuasega, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa. The First Lady emphasized the Federal Government’s focus on significantly aiding in saving lives and reducing the health mortality rate in the country by ensuring that communities receive prompt medical attention when needed.
The First Lady also inaugurated the commencement of the NDDC 2025 free medical outreach and the donation of medical equipment to health facilities in the region. Tinubu explained that the introduction of a health insurance scheme specifically designed for rural communities in the Niger Delta would provide thousands of families with access to affordable and reliable medical care.
‘I am honoured to be in Bayelsa State after my first visit, and it is a great delight for me to officially inaugurate the NDDC medical outreach programme,’ she stated. The health insurance scheme, along with the distribution of school desks, benches, and textbooks, in collaboration with the Renewed Hope Initiative, will benefit the nine states of the Niger Delta region: Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Rivers, Edo, Imo, Abia, and Ondo.
The First Lady further explained that the NDDC/RHI collaboration, initiated in 2024, aims to provide further support in critical areas of development by empowering communities. She highlighted that this collaboration would improve the quality of life in the Niger Delta region, aligning with the Renewed Hope Initiative model for better family life.
She recalled that NDDC’s previous interventions in education provided more than 45,000 preloaded educational tablets and textbooks to upper primary schools, junior, and senior secondary school students across urban and rural communities in all NDDC states. Additionally, the NDDC-RHI internship scheme has begun disbursing N50,000 monthly stipends to 500 pre-identified beneficiaries for one year in all nine states, through the office of the state First Ladies.
The First Lady mentioned that the quarterly medical outreach programme aims to deliver special health services directly to communities, addressing common health issues, providing preventive care, and raising awareness about health concerns, particularly in maternal and child health. She announced the donation of 11 fully equipped ambulances and the supply of personal protective equipment to enhance healthcare delivery, with each NDDC state receiving one ambulance, while Bayelsa and Delta will each receive two ambulances.
Earlier, the Managing Director of NDDC, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, highlighted the essence of the partnership between the Renewed Hope Initiative and NDDC to ensure the commission delivers the dividends of development in health, education, and other social services, focusing on benefiting women, children, and youth in the Niger Delta region. He noted the commissioning of road projects in the region, initiated by President Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.
Gov. Douye Diri expressed his appreciation to the Federal Government for several developmental projects executed in Bayelsa, especially the linking of roads to coastal communities.
