Business

ICRC, Shippers To Collaborate On Dry Ports Project

Published

8 years ago

January 3, 2018

The Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) is to collaborate with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to make Inland Dry Ports (IDPs) bankable and be attractive to more concessionaires.
The Acting Director-General of ICRC, Mr Chidi Izuwah, said this in a publication of the Council entitled “The Shipper’’, made available to newsmen in Lagos on Monday.
The Tide source reports that there are six (6) approved locations for the Inland Container Depots (ICDs) / Container Freight Stations (CFSs), which had been concessioned to private sector operators by the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
The six ICDs are: Isiala Ngwa in Aba, Erunmu in Ibadan, Heipang in Jos, Zawachiki in Kano, Zamfarawa, in Funtua and Jauri in Maiduguri.
Izuwah said that if the IDP was bankable, it would attract the right level of financing from lenders and make them viable.
He said that both the council and the Federal Ministry of Transportation were determined to make the IDP project successful.
According to him, IDPs are included in the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan because the fastest way to increase such capacity in any country is to build dry ports.
“The IDPs will build industries around them because it is about transport and those area they are located will develop and grow our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The government is working very hard. We have to face the reality, building a rail is expensive and takes time.
“The existing narrow gauge lines transverse our country very well and government is in the process of concessioning that narrow gauge lines to General Electric to provide freight services.,’’ he said.
According to him, presently many of the IDPs are located near the rail lines, so it is just to put a siding.
“The ones in Isiala Ngwa, Kaduna and Jos are near the rail and the next thing is to provide people who can operate the system,’’ he said.
Izuwah, who said that many people had good intentions, added that they were not able to appreciate what they needed to do in terms of preparation to develop the IDP project.
He said that the feasibility studies for the licensed IDPs were not properly done, stressing that there was no proper due diligence in terms of the promoters.
According to him, for one to have a dry port, one needs to have good connectivity between the ports and the IDPs.
“In Malaysia and in the Far East, they use IDPs in a standard process. The only thing they do at the ports is vessel handling.
“They do not clear goods at the ports, the container will just leave the vessel on the land and the vessel will go away and they move the containers to the IDPs.
“It is at the IDPs that the owner of the consignments will do Customs formalities and clear the goods.
“Also the Inland Dry Ports are points of origin and destination,” Izuwah said.
According to him, some of the processes required for establishing IDPs were not done properly; that was why the ICRC wanted to work with the Shippers’ Council to plug those gaps and make them bankable.
The Tide source reports that the NSC is saddled with the establishment of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) or IDPs under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative in the country.

Business

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

Published

2 days 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

2 days 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

1 week 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.