News
2017: Rivers Residents Blast FG, Laud RSG
Stakeholders in Rivers State have lamented the difficult operating environment in all sectors, arguing that Federal Government’s policies have made things difficult for millions.
In separate interviews with The Tide, some residents of Port Harcourt appealed to governments at all levels to initiate policies and programmes to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians in 2018 to cushion the negative impact of government actions and inactions in 2017.
One of the respondents, a lawyer, Barrister Temple Weje said, “The year 2017 which has just ended was quite traumatic economically, and as legal practitioners, we are at the receiving end.
“It is so pathetic that our clients, even in the heat of the economic down-turn, when they decide to dispose property to make ends meet at ridiculous rates, the prospective buyers are never coming, apparently on the account of fear of insecurity or being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“The multiplier effect is that money is not circulating from one hand to the other, which is the hardship we all experience today.
“We also find situations where our clients (litigants) cannot afford the minimum requirement financially to prosecute their cases, which by implication, means sacrificing their rights because of poverty,” Weje added.
A businessman, Vintage Mart Supa Centre, Mr McDonald Lordswill said, “Every businessman would always expect a better year, even though the previous year was not that successful.
“In the year 2017, we experienced a lot of setbacks. In my business, we deal on imported products, and those time, bringing in goods from outside Nigeria has not been easy because of harsh economic policies and non-availability of Forex. All these setbacks affected our business negatively.
“Nevertheless, we believe that we are going to have successful and business breakthroughs in 2018. We hope that the experience witnessed in the 2017 Christmas period due majorly to fuel scarcity, which also adversely affected businesses will not continue in 2018.
“If there is a change in policies that directly affects our businesses negatively, it would be a way forward. I believe that it would have positive impact on our business, especially most of us that deal on imported goods,” he said.
A commercial bus driver, Elder Friday Elijah said “This business recorded a very low return last year due mainly to the use of old vehicles. Majority of the buses used by Port Harcourt commercial drivers are very old, and as such, if we work for a day, the next day, the bus is in the mechanic workshop for repairs which makes it difficult for us to save any reasonable money. The drivers mostly affected are those on hire purchase.
They find it very difficult to eat, not to talk of balancing the bus owners.
“No driver can be proud that he has achieved much with such condition in the commercial bus business. We are, however, looking forward to a situation where the government would support bus drivers in Port Harcourt through an empowerment scheme. This would go a long way in reducing the hardship being faced by commercial bus drivers.
A civil servant, Joyce Tonye said, “2017 was not that bad. We thank God for life, and pray that the year 2018 will be better than 2017. I commend the Rivers State Governor, Mr Projects, Chief Nyesom Wike for ensuring the prompt payment of workers’ salaries. The workers are happy with all the achievements he has recorded thus far.
“I appeal that he should ensure workers’ prompt promotion and payment of their promotion arrears. I also humbly appeal that the governor ensures that in 2018, he pays priority to the payment of arrears of annual increments, gratuity and pensions,” she pleaded.
A medical doctor, Dr Simon Lazarus said, “Our business as private doctors in the year 2017 increased tremendously, as we received highest number of patients. But it is sad to say that in the midst of all these, returns on income were very low. Many patients that came to register could not afford the cost for treatment and some simply died due to the delay in raising money for treatment.
“We hope that in 2018, there would be enough cash flow in the system so that people can afford their medical bills and even those not sick would be able to go to the hospitals for some routine check-ups, and treatment where necessary.
“Some challenges confronting private doctors are the inability to afford all the needed equipment due to exorbitant cost, and in a situation where one is able to afford these equipment, patients are not able to afford cost of treatment. Also, the epileptic power supply by Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) is not encouraging at all.
“We believe that if the Rivers State Government really wants to boost its Internal Revenue Generation (IRG), it needs to look particularly into the problem of PHED and ensure that there is always constant power supply everywhere in Rivers State, and not just some segments of the state,” he added.
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.