Business
Commerce Ministry Partners The Tide On Rivers Economic Reform
The Rivers State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry,
Chukuma Chinye, has solicited for the support and partnership of the media
houses in the state in sensitising the people on the economic reform agenda of
the state government.
The Commissioner made the call on Tuesday when he paid a
courtesy visit to Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, publishers of The Tide
newspapers in Port Harcourt.
He said the primary focus of the government among other
developmental programmes is to reform the process of business premises
registration, saying “we do not have a comprehensive data base of business
organisations in the state and the first thing we intend doing is to reform the
process of implementation of the registration of business premises in the
state.”
According to him, “for about 43 years now, the state does
not have a veritable data base of companies doing business and for this reason,
the present administration has embarked on the principle of know your client
(KYC). It will enable government know who is doing business, what kind of
business he is doing in the state and where the business is located,” he noted.
Chinye regretted that Rivers State is one of the places in
Nigeria with the least business data, either persons, business, homes or
activities of government, saying time has come for the implementation of the
business law.
He explained that the provision of the business registration
law is quite clear, companies are mandated to file in annual return to the
Corporate Affairs Commission and send copies to the Ministry’s Registrar of
business premises, lamenting that most of the corporate bodies are yet to
comply with this law.
The purpose, he continued, is to provide information on the
companies doing business in the state and it would be hoisted on line as well
as made available to the embassies.
He appealed to The Tide, the authoritative voice of Niger
Delta to partner with the Ministry in complementing the efforts of the state government
toward sensitising the people on the economic reform agenda of the government.
In his response, the General Manager of Rivers State
Newspaper Corporation, Celestine Ogolo, thanked the Commissioner for
recognising The Tide newspapers in this direction, noting that the
Commissioner’s visit and presentation has given us more hope that the
government is involving the media toward the economic growth of the state.
He assured to partner with the Commissioner to achieve the
laudable objective, saying that The Tide apart from being the only surviving
government paper in the country for about 41 years now, is capable of printing
all types of printable materials. He solicited for patronage and availability
of the hard copies/yellow page of the business directorate.
He commended the Rivers State government for repositioning
The Tide by providing a Rotary machine which will soon be installed.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor