Business

FG Advocates Appropriate PPP Framework

Published

12 years ago

November 14, 2014

The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has advocated appropriate legal framework for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) that would accommodate risk sharing.
Okonjo-Iweala made the call in Abuja at the PPP Foundational Training organised for stakeholders by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
She said that some of the existing PPP framework and agreements in the country put all the risks involved in transactions on governments alone.
She said that a situation where the private sector always walked away with no risk, while the government bore all the risks involved in the projects was not the best of arrangements.
Okonjo-Iweala said that the right framework would be in terms of financial and economic analysis that allowed participating parties to make a decent rate of returns.
She said that there was the need for the consumers to get a fair deal at the end of every project to save consumers from bearing unnecessary costs.
The minister said that there were many interesting existing PPP projects in the country that were based on well-structured framework.
“We’ve got the second Niger Bridge which I think is going along very well. We’ve got the Lagos –Ibadan road, the Lekki Deep Seaport, the Onne Port and many more.
“There should be the right framework in terms of financial and economic analysis that permits participating parties to make a decent rate of returns to ensure that the consumers get a fair deal.
“I do not want a situation whereby after we finish the project we will be trying to come back and undo it because it was not properly structured,” she said.
Okonjo-Iweala said that one of the major problems confronting the success of PPP arrangement in Africa is its length of time.
She said that statistics had shown that it took an average of seven years to complete a PPP project on the continent.
The minister said that no ministry would hurry into any PPP agreement when the time horizon for delivery was longer, while the time horizon for the policy maker was short.
“If they are going to be in office for four years and the PPP is not going to be realised, it means that they are leaving office without delivering.
“We cannot afford to take that length of time because we have so many projects and this means that we need the financial capacity to understand the types of arrangements needed.
“We need the legal and the regulatory framework within which we are doing this in order to hasten the projects,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
She said that the country needed about 14 billion dollars annually to fund infrastructure development out of which 10 billion dollars would come from the Federal Government.
She said that the country’s spending on infrastructure was about six billion dollars, adding that there was a big gap which could only be filled through PPP.
The AfDBs Nigeria Country Director, Dr Ousmane Dore, said the training was a part of the processes to establish a PPP advisory department in the bank’s office in Nigeria.
Dore said that the programme would also assist the government and other stakeholders in developing capacity to identify, procure and manage PPPs.
He commended the Federal Government’s political support for PPP and its recognition as one of the keys to economic growth and equity.

Special Adviser to the Rivers State Governor on ICT, Engr. Goodliffe Nmekini (right), presenting Ipads to the Head of Department, Paediatrics, BMSH, Dr. Ajibola Alabi (middle), during the inspection of ICT facilities at the hospital recently. With them is Dr. Josephine Aiyafo. Photo: Egberi A. Sampson

Business

Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members In Brass Water

Published

1 day ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways

The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.

?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered

as search party are still ongoing.

Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.

The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit

The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident

By: CHINEDU WOSU

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

1 day ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.

Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.

He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.

According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.

He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.

“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.

Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.

The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.

He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.

The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.

He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.

Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.

By: King Onunwor

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

7 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.

Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.

“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.

The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.

According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.

Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.

He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.

“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.

“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.

Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.

“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.

“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.

She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.

Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).

“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.

“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.