Korede Abdullah 
Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri
BAYELSA, Nigeria – The Bayelsa State Government has said equipping students and teachers with emergency response skills will help save lives and reduce delays in accessing medical care during emergencies.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe, stated this on Thursday during a three-day emergency response training organised by FIRST Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited, the NNPC Limited/FIRST E&P Joint Venture and the Health Emergency Initiative (HEI) in Yenagoa.
The programme trained more than 100 secondary school students and 50 teachers in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other emergency response skills.
Bayelsa Expands Emergency Care Capacity
Brisibe said the initiative formed part of efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery across the state.
He disclosed that Bayelsa invested about N9 billion in healthcare in the first quarter of 2026, adding that the state ranked first nationally in per-capita health investment.
“This is an investment that is here to save lives and shorten our response time to medical emergencies,” he said.
The commissioner said the emergency response training would be expanded to public institutions and communities.
He added that the state had introduced diploma programmes in emergency medical technology and paramedics at the Bayelsa State College of Health Technology to strengthen its emergency care workforce.
HEI Urges Proactive Response to Emergencies
Founder and Executive Director of HEI, Paschal Achunine, said the programme was designed to encourage people to respond appropriately during emergencies rather than simply record incidents for social media.
“Our expectation is that as opposed to the current practice, where people take pictures and videos and put them on social media when an emergency happens, we’ll see more proactive responses,” he said.
FIRST E&P Executive Director, Corporate Services, Emmanuel Etomi, said prompt action could determine whether an emergency victim survives.
“The difference between life and death can be measured in minutes,” he said.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
