Business

NEW Rivers: Building The Future Through Quality Education

Published

6 years ago

March 23, 2020

Improving the quality of education in Rivers State has always been a major focus of Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration. When he took over leadership in 2015, the education sector was in comatose. The immediate past administration had adopted a cosmetic approach that destroyed the foundation of education in the state.
All through his first term, Wike diligently revived the education sector. From the basic, to the senior secondary up to the tertiary education level, he upgraded facilities. The impact has been felt up to the rural communities.
All the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State felt the impact of the educational programmes and policies of Governor Wike during his first term. He promised to do more for Rivers people.
His second term has been a continuation of the wonderful revival of the education sector. The basic education sector is witnessing the massive upgrade and reconstruction of schools.
In the last one year, about 100 basic education schools have been upgraded and reconstructed by the Wike administration.
The objective of the administration is to ensure that Rivers children have access to quality learning facilities.
Through the Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board and the Rivers State Ministry of Education, the Wike administration has empowered teachers with modern teaching skills.
The training and retraining of teachers has been upscaled by the administration. Governor Wike believes that when teachers are empowered with higher knowledge and skills, they will deliver more to Rivers children.
Within the first one year of his second term, Governor Wike has reconstructed and equipped three major schools in the state. They are: Government Secondary School, Ubima, (formerly Community Secondary School, Ubima), Seabed Model School , Port Harcourt and Government Craft Development Centre, Port Harcourt.
Major secondary schools spread across the three senatorial districts of the state are witnessing upgrade and general restoration. This is a continuation of the phased reconstruction of iconic schools started by the Wike administration during his first term.
Governor Wike is also embarking on the reconstruction and remodeling of the following secondary schools: Enitonia High School, Port Harcourt in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area; Government Secondary School, Ogu in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, Community Secondary School, Rumuolumeni in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area ,Community Secondary School, Rumuepirikom in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Bonny National Grammar School, Bonny in Bonny Local Government Area and Government Secondary School, Okarki in Ahoada West Local Government Area.
Others are: Western Ahoada Central High School, Ahoada in Ahoada East Local Government Area, Government Secondary School, Abua in Abua/Odual Local Government Area, Government Secondary School, Okporowo -Ogbakiri, Emohua Local Government Area, Government Secondary School, Obuama in Degema Local Government Area, Community Secondary School, Omuanwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area, Model Secondary School Bakana in Degema Local Government Area and Model Secondary School, Tombia in Degema Local Government Area .
The Rivers State Government under the leadership of Governor Wike, has improved the funding of tertiary institutions in the state, developing the right facilities that have led to the accreditation of courses.
The Rivers State University, the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori and the Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Port Harcourt have been well-funded by the administration. They have become national reference points.
To ensure access to education for the less privileged, Governor Wike abolished all forms of fees and levies in public primary, junior and senior secondary schools in Rivers State.
This was a major second-term action. He has since released funds for the running of the schools for the 2019/2020 academic session.
The funds released by the Rivers State Governor would be used by the schools for registers, chalks, dusters, markers, notebooks, pens and other consumables.
Governor Wike approved that the state government will henceforth bankroll the form fees for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) for all indigenes and non-indigenes in the state.
This approval by Governor Wike has been implemented for the 2020 UTME conducted by JAMB.
All across the state, parents and guardians have continued to sing the praises of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike for supporting education in very practical ways. With the abolition of fees and the payment of UTME fees, the less privileged for the first time are feeling the direct positive impact of government.
Delivering the 2020 budget to the Rivers State House of Assembly, Governor Wike made a solemn commitment to use education as a tool for empowerment and education.
He said: “Building on the progress of the last four and half years, we will continue to ensure adequate funding for education in Rivers State. It is for this reason that we are proposing the sum of N49.471 billion to fund the education sector for 2020. This sum represents 20% of the total budget and is the highest ever budgetary allocation to education, reflecting the level of our commitment to investing in the future of our children.
“ In 2020, we will continue to ensure the systematic rehabilitation, upgrade and transformation of our primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and build new ones where the population demands to deliver a more conducive learning environment across schools in Rivers State.”
Governor Wike has kept this promise. The results are everywhere across the state. The results from WAEC and NECO examinations justify the quality investments in the education sector by Governor Wike.

Nwakaudu is Special Assistant to Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media.

Simeon Nwakaudu

Business

Nigeria’s ETF correction deepens as STANBICETF30, VETGRIF30 see 50% decline in a week

Published

6 hours ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

Nigeria directs all oil, gas revenues to federation account in sweeping reform

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has signed an order directing that all oil and gas revenues owed to the government be paid directly into the federation account, in sweeping reforms aimed at boosting public finances, the presidency said on Wednesday.

Under the law, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation keeps 30% of oil and gas profits for frontier exploration in inland basins. The presidency said those funds will now be paid into the federation account and appropriated by the government.

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NNPC also retains 30% of oil and gas sales as operational costs and receives 30% of proceeds from Production Sharing Contracts. Under the new directive, all revenues under these arrangements will flow directly to the federation account, while the company will instead receive appropriated management fees.

Royalty payments, petroleum profit taxes and other statutory revenues previously collected and retained by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) will also be paid directly into the Federation Account. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) will likewise remit its revenues in full, with its cost of collection to be funded through appropriation.

Tinubu’s office said deductions enabled by the law had sharply reduced net oil inflows and contributed to fiscal strain across federal, state and local governments. The president also ordered a review of the law and established an implementation committee to enforce the changes.

Business

BOI Introduces Business Clinic

Published

6 hours ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

The Bank of Industry (BoI) has introduced a business clinic model designed to diagnose, treat and rehabilitate the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to ensure long-term growth and sustainability.

The Divisional Head, Business Development, BoI, Dr Obaro Osah, made this known at the bank’s Thrive Summit with the theme: “Driving Growth through Innovation and Financial Empowerment” on Tuesday in Lagos.

Osah noted that traditional banking often treated businesses as mere account opening and management relationships.

He said the BoI business clinic model was created to reimagine the essence of a bank as a specialised teaching hospital.

According to him, just as a hospital requires a thorough diagnosis before service treatment/surgery, the bank must analyse the structural health of a small business before injecting capital.

“Financial distress is often just a symptom, the disease lies in operations and adopted philosophy, strategy, or governance,” he said.

Osah noted the many MSMEs, in spite of their potential, suffer from recurring ailments: restricted cash flow, poor operational structure, lack of proper packaging and market access, poor management among others.

He said the bank’s triage and vital signs included screening SMEs by maturity stage, pulse check to assess cash flow and liquidity and market temperature to evaluate competitive landscape.

Osah said after these evaluation, advanced diagnostics, prescriptions, surgical interventions and recovery and rehabilitation would be carried out where necessary.

“Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice and the Thrive Summit ensures we treat the root cause, not just the symptoms,” he said.

The Chief Strategy and Development Officer, BoI, Dr Isa Omagu, noted that MSMEs needed more than finance to succeed.

Omagu said they needed structure, advisory, capacity building, governance, digital readiness, access to market information and the right business infrastructure to operate and scale effectively.

He said as part of the bank’s 2025-2027 Corporate Strategy, the business clinic would expand BoI’s value proposition to broaden its products and services to better reach target segments.

Omagu said by offering structured business advisory and project development support, the clinic would enable the bank deliver deeper, more holistic value to MSMEs beyond financing.

“This vision of a structured, holistic business clinic; one that strengthens MSMEs across all core business functions and makes them more bankable, competitive, digitally enabled, and sustainable, is fully aligned with our strategic initiative to develop and roll out non-financial product offerings.

“Through this initiative, BoI commits to providing business advisory for MSMEs and project lifecycle support for enterprises, and the business clinic serves as the practical platform through which this commitment comes to life,” he said.

Omagu urged MSMEs to apply the guidance received to strengthen structure, governance, and financial management.

He added that they must adopt digital tools and improve internal processes to boost competitiveness while engaging BoI as a long-term partner in building a resilient, scalable business.

Mrs Eniola Akinsete, Divisional Head, Sustainability, BoI, said adopting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), principles often led to business prosperity.

Akinsete, however, noted that in spite of the benefits, adoption challenges persisted.

She affirmed BoI’s support on the adoption of ESG Practices by the MSMEs.

Earlier, the Executive Director, Corporate Finance, Sustainability and Investments, BoI, Mr Rotimi Akinde, said the summit represented a shared commitment to building a stronger, more resilient business ecosystem in Nigeria.

Akinde stated that the business clinic created a platform for practical knowledge sharing where entrepreneurs and small business owners could gain actionable insights to overcome challenges and seize opportunities.

He said discussions would focus on critical areas that drive sustainable growth, including branding and marketing, financials and activities, human rights, human resources, raising capital for equity and technology.

Business

Dangote signs $400 mln equipment deal with China’s XCMG to speed up refinery expansion

Published

6 hours ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

Nigeria’s Dangote Group has signed a $400 million equipment deal with China’s Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group to speed up the expansion of its oil refinery toward a planned 1.4 million barrels per day, the company said on Tuesday.

The additional equipment is expected to support major projects under construction across refining, petrochemicals, agriculture and infrastructure.

Dangote said the XCMG agreement would allow it to acquire a wide range of new heavy-duty machinery to complement existing assets deployed for the refinery build?out, which the company expects to complete within three years.

As part of the expansion, polypropylene capacity will rise to 2.4 million tons per year from 900,000 tons. Urea production in Nigeria will triple to 9 million tons per year, alongside an existing 3 million-ton plant in Ethiopia, positioning the conglomerate as the world’s largest urea producer, the company said.

The output of linear alkyl benzene – a key raw material for detergents – will increase to 400,000 tons annually, making Dangote the biggest supplier in Africa. Additional base-oil capacity is also planned in the programme.

Dangote Group described the equipment deal as a strategic investment aligned with its ambition to become a $100 billion enterprise by 2030.

“The additional equipment we are acquiring under this partnership will significantly enhance execution across our projects,” it said in a statement.

Owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, the $20 billion refinery began operations in 2024 after years of delays. Once fully operational, it is expected to reduce Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported refined fuel and reshape fuel supply across West and Central Africa.

Reporting by Isaac Anyaogu; Editing by Anil D’Silva

The Nigeria-Slovenia Chamber of Commerce on Thursday urged the Nigerian business community to explore business opportunities in Slovenia to widen their horizons.

The Tide source reports that the chamber made the call at its 2025 Last Quarter Business Forum held in Lagos State.

The forum is the chamber’s routine session aimed at informing businesses about the latest opportunities of mutual benefit between both countries, encouraging people to explore them to improve their livelihoods.

Speaking at the event, which was attended by businessmen and trade regulatory agencies, the Director-General of the Nigeria-Slovenia Chamber of Commerce, Mr Uche Udungwor, described the relationship between the two countries as a bilateral economy.

Udungwor said the body, established to build, promote and facilitate trade and investment activities between Nigeria and Slovenia, had positively impacted both nations.

He said the mandates of the chamber include: “To provide a forum representative of Nigeria and Slovenia’s interests for the development and improvement of commerce and industry between the two countries.

“Also, to create, promote and sustain broad exchanges and interactions in commercial, industrial and economic fields between the countries.

“To promote cooperation on technical and scientific innovations between institutions of the countries through the exchange of regular information on trade and investment opportunities.

“To advise members on opportunities, challenges, legislation or otherwise arising from the pursuit of trade between Nigeria and Slovenia, and to encourage the exchange of ideas and views on trade matters within the context of trade promotion between both countries.”

According to him, Slovenia’s major imports include organic chemicals, agro products such as cocoa beans, iron and steel/metal scraps, wood, and mineral fuels/petroleum products.

He said the trade balance between Slovenia and Nigeria is “not quite encouraging”, citing United Nations COMTRADE data indicating that Slovenia’s imports from Nigeria in 2022 amounted to $5.7 million.

Udungwor described the Republic of Slovenia, located in Central Europe with about 2.1 million inhabitants, as a promising business frontier for Nigerians.

He noted that the country features Alpine mountains, thick forests and a short Adriatic coastline.

“Slovenia, which borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Croatia to the south and southeast, and Hungary to the northeast, has a 2024 GDP of 72.49 billion dollars, a sound economy and a low-risk business environment.

“Slovenia has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and of the Schengen Group since 2007. It is also a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“Slovenia today is a stable, vibrant democracy that offers a stimulating business environment and represents a bridge between the Balkan, Central European and Western European countries.

“The Nigeria-Slovenia Chamber of Commerce is at your service to provide up-to-date information and advice about Slovenia’s economy, business opportunities, companies, products and services for the mutual benefit of all,” he said.

A participant, Mr Muyiwa Ajose, said his partnership with the chamber had bolstered his agro exports to Slovenia.