Business

Large Scale Mining, Key To Industrial Revolution – Sada

Published

11 years ago

March 6, 2015

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development,Mr. Musa Sada has said in Abuja that the development of large scale mining was key to achieve industrial revolution in any nation.
Sada, who stated this when he visited Nasaman Nigeria Ltd, an indigenous mining company, said it was part of the government’s plan to source for fund to ensure mining companies grew bigger in the country.
Sada said the World Bank, through its sustainable management of mineral resources project, gave grant to artisanal and small scale miners to economically empower and train them on safe mining practice.
“We are now in another phase of developing intermediate and large scale mining companies through sourcing for fund from financial houses, government funds and donor agencies.’’
He said this development would assist the country to achieve industrial revolution plan where companies would pay high taxes, employ more people and create value chain.
“You will not get what you want out of mining if you do not industrialise. The industrial revolution plan and mining roadmap are already going on so we can find a meeting point,’’ he said.
He said the N200 billion SME intervention fund was part of the target to achieve the industrial plan and also the Bank of Industry had similar facilities to support development of natural resources.
He said this was the time to start implementing the natural resources fund in the development of the mining sector, adding that the fund was not for running of the offices or buying cars.
He said the Federal Government usually set aside annually 1.68 per cent of budget for the development of the natural resources such as agriculture, water and solid minerals sector.
“Currently all the work that is ongoing in agriculture and water resources sector are largely from the fund, although there are other sources of funding.
The minister said the ideal of 1.68 per cent was to create other sources of revenue for government out of it, adding that the ministry’s roadmap had been addressing it.
“At a point in time we must start to access those funds to make substantial impact on the revenue; that is what we are looking at. It is actually a moving fund kept aside for this development,’’ Sada said.
He called on Nigerians to invest in the sector to ensure development of mining in the country.
However, Mr Mamma Ali, the Chairman of the company, appealed to the Federal Government to invest heavily in mining as the sector had a future in it.
Ali urged government to provide mining intervention fund for investors, to ensure fast development of the sector, adding that finance had been a major challenge militating against the development of mining.
The chairman said the company, which started mining in 2000 in the country, had already been partnering with UN to operate in compliance with the international convention and other protocols.
He said the company had been into mining of gold, iron ore, coal, bauxite, tantalite, cassitarite, precious and semi precious stones around Niger, Zamfara, Kebbi and Kogi, among others.
He said the company had established the first machanised, large-scale, chemical free gold processing facility in the country and intended to replicate the equipment across the country.
He said the machine could process 200 tonnes of gold daily and so far many Nigerians had been trained on how to operate it, to avoid recurrence of Zamfara lead poisoning in any part of the country.
He said the machine, which involved crushing and grinding of gold ore annually, could generate net cash flow 13.7 million dollars.
Mr Henry Mitchell, the Executive Director (Operations) of the company, during his presentation, said the partnership between the ministry and the company would drive the extractive industry to great height.
He said the mining sector, if well developed, would create over five million jobs for Nigerians and increase the revenue base of the country.
Mitchell said the under development of the sector had led to importation of minerals which could ordinarily be produced locally such as iron ore and salt.
The executive director said that the launch of Industrial Revolution Master Plan was a sign of President GoodLuck Jonathan’s commitment to develop the sector.
He said that key elements of the company were commercial asset development to generate revenue, indigenous skills development and formalisation of artisanal mining communities.

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.