Business

Ayade Charges Advertising Practitioners On Investment

Published

10 years ago

March 18, 2016

In a maiden edition of Out
door Investment Forum organized by the Cross River State Signage and Advertising Agency (CRISSAA), the Cross River State Governor, Senator Prof. Ben Ayade, advised Advertising Practitioners to invest in the state now that there is still space for investment, adding that enormous potentials abound in the state.
Ayade noted that, the growth rate of 4.03 per cent with an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 6.33 per cent which the state has currently recorded, assures that the business environment guarantees maximum profit on investment.
According to him, the new Management of CRISSAA is poised to redefine the agency taking it away from being just a revenue collection agency that creates jobs, transfer skills, fabricating industry that can carter for the South- South, South East, and the entire country.
The governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ivara Esu, explained that, the present administration seeks to build cottage industries across various sectors with CRISSAA as the major player, and also build an outdoor advertising industry, adding that, the state is politically stable with a strong support for the growth of private sector organisations.
Also speaking, the Director General CRISSAA, Stanley Nsemo, said he and his team are poised to create something new and different, noting that customer care lines are open 24 hours to receive text messages and calls for complaints, for solutions to be offered before dusk.
He said the purpose of the forum was to bring both government and other stakeholders of outdoor adverting to see each other as partners so that the government would know their flaws and where to make amends while describing the state as being discovered even though Africa is yet to be discovered.
Also, the Commissioner for Information, Mrs RoseMary Archibong, corroborated the DG CRISSAA, saying, the discoveries in the state were many and more were to be made noting that, the principal they were working with was engaged in total re-engineering of the state and that the advertisement industry was the window of selling the state to the world, and assured outdoor practitioners of reaping the dividends of their investment.
Mrs. Achibong said, the Super Highway is real and that the Deep seaport was also real, explaining that, these are the evacuation route of the products and that the garment factory is also an area where advertisement industry could thrive, the Rice city, where investors from Thailand were opening a school which would Certify graduates, and others from Mexico are also coming to invest in banana.
In terms of security, she said, the state has good protection pointing to the largest street party in Africa hosted annually which has attracted people from embassies, Nollywood and around the world, stressing that, the annual carnival has not limited itself to merriment alone but has a mandate to plant five million trees annually to support the rain forest the state is still maintaining.
Presenting his paper, the Chairman/CEO, Investment Promotion, (Arc) John Etim Bassey, said the indices for determining investment are here in Cross River State and noted that, security is well organized, the location of the State is the fastest evacuation corridor, and that the infrastructure is being provided in terms of the super highway and the deep seaport for convenience, both inland and off shore.

Friday Nwagbara, Calabar

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

6 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.