Business

Nigeria Yet To Achieve Self-Sufficiency In Sugar -Official

Published

8 years ago

May 14, 2018

Nigeria is yet to achieve self-sufficiency eight years after the launch of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan.
The Executive Secretary, National Sugar Development Council told Dr Latif Busari, newsmen in Abuja yesterday that the plan was also to significantly reduce sugar import dependency.
The plan estimated that the country’s demand for sugar will be more than the 1.7 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) mark by 2020, with the bulk of the investment capital coming from private investors
The plan will also help the country to establish 28 sugar factories of varying capacities and bring about 250,000 hectares of land into sugarcane cultivation.
Busari said in 2013, three existing refineries signed on to the Backward Integration Programme (BIP).
They are: Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, BUA Sugar Refinery Limited and Golden Sugar Company.
According to him, the first phase of the BIP will run 2013 to 2018, while the second phase will be from 2018 to 2023.
“Having identified the constraints and designed measures to contain them, the prospects for the effective implementation of the plan over the next five years are bright.
“Series of engagements with the operators are ongoing and the council is confident that the revised plans are realistic and achievable.
“The combination of the new guidelines with the actions that government and relevant agencies will be taking will result in a greater commitment by operators and ultimately, more sugar projects and substantial increases in local sugar production levels,’’ he said
Busari said the objectives of the plan was to raise local sugar production to attain self-sufficiency, create large number of employment opportunities and to contribute to production of ethanol and generation of electricity.
He listed the main challenges in the implementation of the plan as sustaining operators’ commitment to implementation of BIP plans and laxity in operational procedures and performance rating.
According to him, others are difficulties in land acquisition, community hostility, flooding of sugar estates by the release of water from the Kainji and Jebba dams and the persistent smuggling of St. Louis and other packaged sugar brands.
Busari said the constraints had been the subject of several initiatives by the council in collaboration with the Packaged Sugar Producers Association of Nigeria (PSPAN) and other relevant agencies.
He added that sugar projects were capital intensive with long gestation periods.
“Investors in the sugar industry, just like other investors have difficulties in gaining easy access to cheap funds.
According to him, the solution will be the implementation of a more robust monitoring and feedback mechanism as well as intensified interactions with relevant stakeholders to engender interventions.
He said “the interventions are against operational challenges for example flooding, sugar smuggling, and presentation of issues pertaining to release of land allocation to the Nigeria Governors Forum to elicit the support of state governors for sugar operators whose project land are being threatened.
“There will be sensitisation of communities hosting sugar and other agricultural projects on the economic diversification agenda of government as well as the value and benefits of these projects.
“This will help to avoid all acts that may disrupt operations, special consideration will be extended to sugar projects which have longer gestation periods.
“The council will encourage operators to do more in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and expansion of the sugarcane out grower scheme as a way of engaging the communities. (NAN)

Business

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

Published

4 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

4 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.