Group Trains 200 Bayelsa Residents On Soap Making

The Tinubu Movement for Sustainable Governance Foundation (TMS), popularly known as Tinubu Must Stay, has held a town hall meeting and industrial training programme in Bayelsa state, where more than 200 participants received practical skills in soap making as part of a grassroots empowerment initiative.

Director of media and Strategic Communication at TMS, Adebisi Adams in a statement said the programme, themed “Empowering Nigerians for the Better,” brought together political stakeholders, community leaders, women and youths to discuss economic reforms, entrepreneurship, grassroots development and sustainable governance under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The TMS South-South Zonal coordinator, Ogio Bright Clement in a speech said the gathering was designed to combine public engagement with practical economic empowerment and deepen understanding of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Clement said empowerment should extend beyond political slogans to equipping young people with marketable skills, supporting women to become economically independent and creating opportunities for communities to improve their livelihoods.

He urged participants to take advantage of the vocational training, describing skills acquisition as an important pathway to self-reliance. He also called on TMS coordinators in Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states to intensify grassroots engagement and strengthen unity within the movement.

In a goodwill message, TMS National Coordinator and Chairman of its Board of Trustees, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, represented by the Director of Mobilisation and Membership, Engr. Ibrahim Said Uba, commended the Bayelsa chapter for combining civic engagement with human-capital development.

Uba highlighted several federal infrastructure interventions in Bayelsa, including the Ogbia-Nembe Road and bridges, Oruma Rigid Pavement Road, ongoing Nembe-Brass Road and rehabilitation works on sections of the East-West Road.

He also cited road projects connecting Otuasega, Obedum and Emelego, as well as Ologi, Sangatama and Akipelei communities, arguing that improved connectivity could stimulate commerce and broaden economic opportunities.

While acknowledging that some of the infrastructure projects predated the current administration, Uba said their continuation, advancement and commissioning underscored the importance of policy consistency and sustained investment in development.

He maintained that human-capital investment was equally important, encouraging participants to embrace vocational training, entrepreneurship and innovation.

During an interactive session, participants raised concerns about access to Federal Government empowerment programmes, particularly for people living with disabilities and residents of rural communities.

Victoria Okoto, a leader of persons with disabilities in Southern Ijaw, sought clarification on how vulnerable groups could benefit from initiatives including the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme and CREDICORP.

Similarly, former Southern Ijaw councillor Ebikebina Comfort Philip questioned how government interventions could more effectively reach people in remote and grassroots communities.

Responding, Uba said efforts were being made to broaden access to empowerment opportunities and encouraged residents to engage relevant institutions to identify programmes for which they qualify.

Earlier, Dr Anthony Chukwuebuka Okoye of the Department of Political Science, Federal University Otuoke, delivered a keynote titled “Economic Reforms: The Pain, the Gains and the Future of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration.”

Okoye examined the economic conditions inherited by the administration in May 2023 and identified petrol subsidy removal, foreign-exchange reforms and tax restructuring as major policy interventions intended to address longstanding structural weaknesses.

He acknowledged that the measures had imposed significant hardship through higher transportation costs, inflationary pressures and declining purchasing power, but said their ultimate success should be assessed by whether improved macroeconomic indicators translate into better living conditions.

According to him, higher government revenues, foreign reserves and economic growth would mean little to ordinary Nigerians unless they ultimately result in affordable food, employment opportunities, stronger purchasing power and improved public services.

Okoye identified security, reliable electricity, infrastructure and accountability as crucial to sustaining economic reforms, adding that Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030 would require policy consistency, increased investment, industrial expansion and stronger productivity.

A major highlight of the Bayelsa programme was the industrial training session, during which more than 200 participants were taught soap-making skills and offered guidance on converting their knowledge into income-generating ventures.

Organisers said the programme reflects TMS’s broader approach of combining political and policy engagement with skills acquisition and grassroots empowerment.