News
The Trained Doctors Are Back In Borno, All Thanks To VP Shettima
The Trained Doctors Are Back In Borno, All Thanks To VP Shettima
By Stanley Nkwocha
Gratitude, they say, does not play around. It goes straight for the heart. It is what happens when we stop long enough to notice all the good stuff. So, it was not surprising that a group of medical doctors were among well-meaning Nigerians who availed themselves of the opportunity created by the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations on Thursday to pay the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, a thank-you visit at his residence in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The medical doctors were among the 60 female medical students sponsored for MBBS courses in 2014 when the administration of Senator Shettima in Borno State awarded scholarships to students studying different health professional fields abroad.
In 2014, then Governor Shettima took it upon himself to sponsor female citizens of the state to study Medicine at the El-Razi Medical University, Khartoum in Sudan and other citadels of great learning. During the launch of the Female Medical Intervention Programme of his administration and presentation of scholarship letters at the Government House Maiduguri, Shettima had said the female students were drawn from the 27 local government areas of the state.
“Having 30 female medical doctors which the state desperately needs is the greatest legacy the government can give the state, in view of the fact that women have peculiar health challenges arising from maternity, menstrual and other issues that women would be in the best position to handle as a result of the African culture and religion,” Shettima had said, noting that 30 female candidates would be sent every year for training as medical doctors and that no amount of money spent on their training would be a waste.
Not satisfied, Shettima had directed the then commissioner for Higher Education, Mr Bello Ayuba, to add three more Christian female candidates and two female students from the Northern part of the state to the 30 scheduled for the training, imploring the candidates to be good ambassadors of the state and the country.
True to his words, as good ambassadors they were urged to become, the medical doctors were back on Thursday with an unquenchable desire to thank and appreciate Kashim Shettima for his capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.
Recounting their experience and how they were recruited, one of the 60 girls picked from across Borno State and sponsored by Shettima to study Medicine abroad, Dr. Aisha Kaumi, told journalists immediately after the Sallah homage to the Vice President that they have since graduated, with 50 of them working as medical doctors in the state.
She said, “My name is Dr. Aisha Kaumi, one of the medical doctors sponsored by Vice President Kashim Shettima while he was governor of Borno State. So, we came here today to pay a visit to thank him for all he has done for us and to congratulate him on his well-deserved position as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Alhamdulillah, we met him and everything went well, and he (the VP) assured us that in case we want to specialize he was 100 percent ready to assist us.
“We were 60 then, 30 of us from El-Razi Medical University, Khartoum in Sudan, and the other 30 who graduated from the National University of Sudan. Alhamdulillah, all of us graduated and currently, about 50 of us are working with the state government here in Borno State. The remaining ten are yet to pass their medical exams but, Insha Allah, we are hoping that they will catch up with us.”
On the motivation behind studying Medicine and the impact on them and the state, Dr. Kaumi said, “It was indeed a dream come true because I never ever thought I will become a medical doctor. So, Alhamdulillah, I’m very grateful to the Vice President. Without him, I don’t think I would have become a medical doctor today. It was not easy; it was a kind of roller coaster of hardship and the courage to study well so that we can come here and help our people in Borno State. So, we are very grateful to him. His Excellency, the governor of Borno State is really doing well in trying to equip the hospitals. We are really grateful.”
Retrospectively, the health and education sectors received adequate attention in Borno State under Senator Shettima as governor. Apart from human capital development which led to foreign scholarships for the ever-grateful medical doctors to study abroad, the then Governor Shettima utilized available resources at his disposal to rehabilitate hospitals destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents and for the procurement of equipment for some reconstructed health facilities.
As Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, an opportunity given to him by his boss, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, VP Shetima is poised to replicate the same leadership of lifting the vision of Nigerians complementing Mr President’s effort at raising performance to a higher levels as well as improving standard of living beyond normal limitations.
The signs are becoming very clear in just less than a year of the Tinubu-led Renewed Hope administration. As the administration advances in the course of changing the narrative for Nigerians, it will become glaring to all why President Tinubu settled for a Vice President who is trustworthy, visionary, loyal and capable.
Nkwocha, spokesman of Vice President Kashim Shettima wrote in from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The Trained Doctors Are Back In Borno, All Thanks To VP Shettima
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
•••771 to Graduate in Nigeria in 2025
•••Otuaro Hails Scholars’ Performances
By: Michael Mike
Nine students awarded foreign post-graduate scholarships by the Presidential Amnesty Programme have graduated from their master’s degree rprogrammes in universities in the United Kingdom.
The successful scholars are the first graduates in the offshore post-graduate scholarship deployment to UK institutions by the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, for the 2024-2025 academic session.
They graduated from the Anglia Ruskin University, University of Dundee and The University of Law with master’s degrees in cyber security, data science and engineering, law, construction and civil engineering management, project management, and ICT.
Also, 711 undergraduate and post-graduate scholarship beneficiaries are expected to graduate from universities within Nigeria this year.
The PAP, on Wednesday, 3 December, 2025, organised a graduation reception for the scholars in London.
Otuaro has congratulated them on their successful graduation, stressing that they completed their programmes in record time which shows the seriousness they had put into their studies.
He said they have justified the Federal Government’s investment in their education with their successful graduation, and urged other beneficiaries not to be distracted in their academic pursuits.
“We congratulate these scholars on their successful graduation. It shows that they took their studies seriously. That is what we demand of every scholarship beneficiary, whether at the undergraduate or post-graduate level”, Otuaro said.
He reiterated his unwavering commitment to expanding the scholarship scheme to create more opportunities for indigent students of Niger Delta extraction to access higher education with a view to closing the human capital development gap in the region.
Otuaro said it was for this reason he deployed 3800 beneficiaries in-country in the 2024-2025 academic year, and increased the figure to 3900 in the 2025-2026 academic session with 200 for foreign scholarships.
Otuaro has so far deployed 7700 students for the PAP scholarship scheme within Nigeria in less than two years.
Within this period, also, he has also deployed 162 students from the region for post-graduate programmes in targeted disciplines in the UK universities.
According to him, this is in conformity with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu for the Niger Delta, who has given unprecedented support to the PAP because of his sincere love for the area.
The PAP boss said, “Our decision aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for the Niger Delta. We will continue to create more higher educational opportunities for students from indigent backgrounds in our region.
“We are also deepening the implementation of the programme’s mandate in informal education and other areas for the sustainable peace and socio-economic advancement of the region.”
Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
By: Michael Mike
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited has been incorporated to seamlessly allowed for the Refinery and Free Trade Zone in Ondo State.
A press statement on Thursday read that: “In furtherance of our commitment to the execution of these two major projects – Refinery and Free Trade Zone in conjunction with the Ondo State Government, the joint partners have taken another giant step by incorporating a joint company, namely – SUNSHINE JOINT VENTURE INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED – as the vehicle to be used in executing these projects. A move that further reinforces the sincerity of purpose and total commitment of the funding partners to move ahead together as a united front.
According to the release by Wale Adekola on behalf of the JV, the Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limitedwill, going forward serve as the vehicle to work with the Ondo State Government through the Ondo State Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) in the implementation of the executed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
The statement added that: “In moving the projects forward for implementation, the JV team met in Dubai to finalize the funding modalities and put in place structures and plans for the commencement of activities for ground breaking and community engagements. These initial activities are aimed at complementing the 50th Anniversary of the creation of Ondo State and the one year anniversary of the election of the Executive Governor of the Sunshine State, His Excellency, Chief Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa CFR.
At the Dubai meeting were key officers of the JV Company, including: Messrs SALEHI FARHAD; ZAHERI NAVID; EGHBAL KORDJAMSHIDI; SAHEED ZAHERI; DR. STEPHEN DIKE; HENRY OWONKA AND MRS. NAMVAR MARYAM.
The statement further informed that, plans have been concluded to mobilize the relevant contractors working with the locals and host communities to put up structures that will host the information center, architectural models to showcase the projects on offer and facilities that will serve the team. All these are being planned with ONDIPA to execute the relocation and accommodation of the host communities that are likely to be affected by the projects and create a seamless transition that will engender peaceful co-existence and harmonious relationship with our host communities.
The JV company further reiterated its commitment to work with Ondo State Government (through ONDIPA) to change the infrastructural landscape of the Sunshine State and for mutual benefits.
Sunshine Joint Venture Infrastructure Limited Established for Realization of Ondo Project
Edo: Seven suspected bandits arrested along Benin-Agbor Road
By: Zagazola Makama
Seven suspected bandits were arrested along the Benin–Agbor Road in Edo State during stop-and-search operations, security sources confirmed.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects, all Fulani youths, were intercepted after being offloaded from a truck at about 1800 hours on 2 December 2025. A search revealed pictures of assault rifles, including AK-47s, on their mobile phones.
Upon interrogation, the suspects claimed to have travelled from Adamawa State. Investigations are ongoing for the possible recovery of actual firearms and to determine their involvement in criminal activities.
Security agencies have urged members of the public to report any suspicious movements to help prevent criminal acts in the area.
Edo: Seven suspected bandits arrested along Benin-Agbor Road
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Nine PAP Foreign Scholarship Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities
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