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FG inaugurates New Orientation Camp For NYSC Bayelsa

Published

4 years ago

February 12, 2023

….. Governor Duoye Diri doles out 10,000 naira to each CM
The Federal Government has inaugurated the Bayelsa State new Orientation Camp in Boro town, Kaiama Local Government Area of the State.

The Minister for Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare during the inauguration today commended Governor Duoye Diri for providing a conducive environment through several gestures for the NYSC Bayelsa State Secretariat, which has enhanced the smooth conduct of the Scheme’s operations.

Dare said the completion of the new Orientation Camp is another clear testimony of the Governor’s passion for the progress of the Nigerian youths who are being trained and mentored for citizenship and leadership roles on the platform of NYSC.

The Minister, who was represented at the ceremony by the NYSC Director General, Brigadier General YD Ahmed said the Governor’s administration has produced lots of people-oriented policies and programmes which has resulted into dividends of democracy.

He stated further that the facilities at the Orientation Camp would not only ensure the smooth conduct of Orientation Courses but also serve as morale booster to Corps Members including the Camp officials.

“I assure you that we shall continue to reciprocate the gesture through the deployment of Corps Members that would contribute to the development of the State and their host communities”, Dare said.

He appealed to other State Governors to upgrade the facilities in their respective Orientation Camps to accommodate at least five thousand Corps Members.

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Duoye Diri in his remarks directed that two new additional hostels be constructed at the Orientation Camp, one for male and another for female Corps Members.

He said this would provide friendly accommodation for successive batches of Corps Members that would be deployed to the State.

The Governor also directed that each Corps Member should be paid Ten Thousand Naira as transport allowance from Camp to their respective Places of Primary Assignment.

“We will continue to partner with Federal agencies for the overall development of our State and the country”, the Governor said.

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

11 hours ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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