Editorial
Deepening Democracy In Rivers
Hitherto, May 29 every year is usually celebrated as Nigeria’s Democracy Day before President Muhammadu Buhari’s dispensation recently changed the date to June 12 for reasons associated to the death of Chief Moshood Abiola, and his fellow compatriots who fought and died for the enthronement of civil rule in the country after prolonged successive military administrations spanning over three decades of post independence Nigeria.
As usual, the Federal Government has already declared today as a public holiday to commemorate the epoch-making event which will usher in another chapter in the nation’s political history as the President and governors are expected to take oath of office and oath of allegiance for another four-year stewardship.
As expected, the President and governors will be inaugurated at the federal and state levels, and thereafter, they will make national and state broadcast to chart a new course of their policy thrust, mission and vision of their tenure in the four years ahead, (2019 to 2023).
President Buhari and Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, though elected on different political platforms, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively, however, have one thing in common-both are coasting home for their second term in office.
In essence, the two political gladiators’ policies and programmes will largely be to consolidate on their achievements in their first tenure. History, therefore, beckons on the leaders to stamp their names on gold by leaving their footprints on the sands of time.
In Rivers State, for instance, where Governor Wike oversees, posterity will for sure judge him right as he has strived to put smiles on the faces of Rivers people who gave him their mandate in 2015 and re-affirmed it in 2019, despite daunting opposition and insecurity challenges.
Like Ceasar’s wife, Wike lived above board, surpassing his predecessors’ achievements since the inception of Rivers State on May 27, 1967, when the then Head of State and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) decreed the existence of 19 states, including Rivers, following agitations by minorities over marginalisation in the Nigerian project.
So, as The Tide congratulates Governor Wike on this auspicious occasion, we strongly believe that it will be another platform and opportunity to prove his critics wrong that the success and achievements during his first tenure were not a fluke or accidental but a deliberate and conscious master plan encapsulated in his NEW Rivers philosophy.
Beyond all odds, the governor is expected to consolidate on his legacies in the past four years and bring to the front burner some of the sectors that were either not touched or partially addressed due to obvious constraints.
Happily enough, Wike has proclaimed in several fora that his priority in the years ahead will majorly focus on agriculture, security, education, employment generation, among other infrastructural initiatives that will take Rivers State to the next level.
While we acknowledge his giant strides in massive road development in the three senatorial zones of the state, particularly in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor, Andoni/Opobo Unity Road, Sakpenwa-Bori Road, Omoku-Egbema dualisation project, Elelenwo-Akpajo Road, among others, we implore the governor to strive to open up the rural areas through internal and access roads to ensure smooth human and agricultural products transit from rural dwellers to urban centres.
It is, indeed, on record that the governor built new specialist hospitals in each of the three senatorial zones which are on the verge of completion, renovated several general hospitals, constructed Mother and Child specialist hospital, among other health facilities, to boost healthcare delivery in the state. In the education sector, a new polytechnic, the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, the Rivers State University (RSU) and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt also received substantial budgetary allocations and grants which resulted to full accreditation of courses in these tertiary institutions.
Perhaps, it is against these lofty and visionary developmental achievements that the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo nicknamed the Governor “Mr Project” in affirmation of Wike’s unprecedented successes recorded in his first term in office.
Wike’s inauguration today therefore provides another ample opportunity for stock-taking and retrospection in his quest to foster a new Rivers State predicated on unity, peace, order and cohesion. Gladly, he has extended the olive branch to the opposition to join the state government in ushering in a new state of our collective dream and aspirations as enunciated by the founding fathers.
As our democratic experience comes alive again today, we put our political leaders on the crucible of history and posterity and to earnestly invite all stakeholders to the Rivers project to put behind them their political and individual interest aside by taking a mental stroll through our tortuous history in the hands of major ethnic blocs. Our leaders should and must therefore complement Wike’s efforts, as, according to our sages, it takes two hands to clap”.
Rivers interest must be paramount always. There cannot be a better state for the present and future generations than our own dear Rivers State.
At the risk of sounding immodest, we implore all to sheathe their swords, come together and make the state a better place for all. Governments come and go, Rivers State remains our God-given endowment.
Rivers people, irrespective of their political affiliation and differences must resist the temptation of playing to the gallery in Abuja in order to massage the ego of their political mentors and associates. The process of re-uniting our people must start now. There can be no better time.
The prolonged suffering of Rivers State pensioners who have remained unpaid since retiring in July 2025 demands urgent executive and legislative intervention. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rightly put its finger on the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as the root cause of this crisis. The state government must now bite the bullet, dismantle this failed experiment, and bring the pensioners’ protracted ordeal to an end.
Since July 2025, the affected retirees have been left high and dry, their monthly pensions unpaid, and their dignity worn away. The NLC, under the leadership of Comrade Alex Agwuanwon, has also linked this deplorable situation to the political storm that engulfed the state, while expressing cautious optimism that the prevailing calm will pave the way for the payment of outstanding arrears. The Tide shares that optimism. However, optimism alone will not put food on the table for men and women who gave the best years of their lives to the service of the state.
The genesis of this crisis is not shrouded in mystery. The CPS was introduced in Rivers State in 2012 under the administration of former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, pursuant to the Rivers State Pension Reform Law of that year. The scheme was ostensibly designed to bring the state into line with the federal Pension Reform Act of 2004, which had established a contributory framework for retirement benefits across the country. What was sold as a progressive reform has, in truth, become a millstone round the neck of the very workers it was meant to protect.
The CPS has failed in the state, and it has failed spectacularly. Its fundamental flaw lies in the government’s chronic inability, or unwillingness, to honour its counterpart funding obligations. The arrangement was meant to be a joint endeavour: employees contribute a portion of their salaries, and the employer matches it. But the state has consistently failed to keep its side of the bargain, leaving the pension fund anaemic and unable to meet its obligations. The result is as predictable as it is unconscionable. Retirees are left with only their own contributions to fall back on, a mere pittance that cannot see them through their twilight years.
The human cost of this institutional failure is staggering. Men and women who devoted decades to the civil service now find themselves cast adrift, their legitimate expectation of a secure retirement shattered. The psychological toll of such betrayal is beyond measure. A pension is not an act of charity. It is a contractual obligation, a deferred wage for services already rendered. To withhold it is to break a sacred trust. The authorities must understand that every delay in resolving this crisis costs lives, both in the literal sense as elderly retirees struggle to pay for healthcare and sustenance, and in the figurative sense as the social contract between the state and its workforce wears thinner with each passing month.
This development does not show the government in a favourable light. For a state to allow people who served it with dedication and integrity to languish in penury after retirement is morally indefensible. It sends a chilling message to serving civil servants that loyalty will be repaid with abandonment. This is precisely why organised labour must not rest on its oars. The NLC’s call for the termination of the CPS is not mere grandstanding. It is a necessary corrective. The scheme, as presently administered, is irredeemably broken and must be done away with.
The most damning indictment of the CPS since its inception is its one-sidedness. The government has failed to pay its counterpart funding, reducing the scheme to a hollow shell. Of what use is a contributory arrangement when only one party contributes? Retirees cannot be expected to live on the meagre sums they themselves set aside, sums which have been steadily eroded by inflation and administrative charges. Workers have been short-changed, left to carry the can while the government looked the other way. It is a quiet expropriation of their future.
The time to put this right is now in the interest of justice, equity, and fairness. The NLC should push harder for the swift implementation of its committee’s report to Governor Siminalayi Fubara. That report contains a sensible and pragmatic recommendation: that the CPS should apply only to those employed in the year it was enacted, thereby allowing existing civil servants to remain under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) to which they were originally entitled. This is not a radical proposal. It is a reasonable compromise that recognises the legitimate expectations of long-serving workers and rights the wrongs of the past.
The authorities must act with dispatch. Governor Fubara should, without further ado, send a draft amendment of the Pension Law to the House of Assembly for passage into law. With such legislative intervention, those who retired from July 2025 to date would be returned to the DBS, receiving pensions calculated on their terminal salaries and years of service rather than the paltry sums available under the failed contributory arrangement. The NLC, for its part, should keep its foot on the pedal through dialogue, advocacy, and, if necessary, peaceful protest. Pensioners deserve not just fine words but concrete action.
Rivers State cannot lay claim to be progressive while its retirees are forced to go cap in hand for their rightful entitlements. The measure of any civilised society is how it treats its elderly. By that yardstick, the present situation is a blot on the state’s escutcheon. The government must clear the backlog of arrears, scrap the CPS for the category of workers it should never have applied to, and restore the DBS in full. Nothing less will suffice.
The recent public health disaster in Ondo State, which claimed 48 lives and left 182 people severely ill, is a gloomy reminder of the dangers posed by unregulated beverages. According to NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the victims consumed contaminated local alcoholic and herbal drinks in communities in Odigbo Local Government Area. The drinks contained high levels of industrial methanol, while 11 of 15 samples also contained Cannabis indica. The substances were linked to organ failure, neurological deterioration, and permanent blindness. The tragedy should serve as a warning to the entire country.
The incident underscores the wider problem of unregulated and adulterated drinks across Nigeria. From roadside kiosks and motor parks to informal markets, unverified alcoholic and herbal products are readily available, often marketed as cheap alternatives or medicines. The World Health Organisation estimates that about 25 per cent of alcohol consumed globally is unrecorded. Such products operate outside formal regulatory control and may expose consumers to toxic substances and serious health risks.
The problem is compounded by deliberate evasion of regulatory requirements. Products under NAFDAC’s mandate must be registered and subjected to regulatory checks before manufacture, distribution, or sale. Yet some producers ignore these requirements for profit, while others falsify NAFDAC registration numbers and markings and use them on substandard products. Such practices deceive consumers and undermine public confidence in the regulatory system.
The reported arrest of 15 suspects linked to the Ondo distribution network is an important first step. Those found responsible should be prosecuted and, where convicted, appropriately punished. However, enforcement must go beyond responding to tragedies. NAFDAC should strengthen preventive measures through regular post-market surveillance, random testing at transit points, and intelligence-led inspections of informal production centres.
Consumers also have a responsibility to exercise caution. Economic hardship, high inflation, and declining purchasing power have created opportunities for unscrupulous producers to market cheaper but potentially dangerous products. Consumers should, therefore, avoid unlabelled drinks, suspiciously cheap products, and goods sold through unverified outlets. Public education and consumer vigilance can help deny unscrupulous traders the opportunity to put profit before human life.
The danger extends beyond alcoholic and herbal drinks to medicines. Counterfeit and substandard medicines have entered both formal and informal supply chains, causing treatment failure, poisoning, and avoidable deaths. The WHO estimates that at least one in 10 medicines in low and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified, although the prevalence varies. Ensuring the safety and authenticity of medicines is essential to protecting lives and maintaining confidence in the healthcare system.
Food safety is another concern. Poor practices in food handling, processing, and preservation expose consumers to serious health risks, particularly when commercial interests override safety. Concerns over the improper use of chemical agents such as calcium carbide to accelerate the ripening of fruits further demonstrate the need for stronger monitoring throughout the food-supply chain.
These challenges expose weaknesses in Nigeria’s regulatory system and reinforce the need to strengthen it. NAFDAC faces the enormous task of monitoring products across all 774 local government areas. Meeting this challenge requires greater operational capacity, reduced bureaucratic delays, and modern systems capable of tracking regulated products from production to the point of sale.
Inadequate personnel, laboratory facilities, equipment, and logistics remain major obstacles. NAFDAC field offices, especially those serving remote communities, need modern testing equipment, reliable screening tools, and adequate transportation. The Federal Government should provide sustained funding to recruit specialised personnel, upgrade laboratories, and deploy technologies capable of rapidly detecting dangerous substances such as methanol.
Preventing the spread of adulterated products also requires coordinated action by federal and state governments. The Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, and other relevant agencies should intensify operations to remove unregistered alcoholic and herbal products from motor parks, transit centres, and informal markets. The National Assembly should review existing laws and strengthen penalties for deliberately producing, falsifying, or distributing toxic and unregistered food, beverages, and medicines.
NAFDAC should expand its digital verification systems to enable consumers to confirm product registration before purchase. State ministries of health, local government councils, and community institutions should intensify grassroots education on the dangers of unlabelled drinks, unsafe food practices, and counterfeit medicines. Traditional, religious, and community leaders can also help identify and report illegal production and distribution activities.
The Ondo tragedy must not become another statistic that is quickly forgotten. The loss of 48 lives and the permanent blindness suffered by some survivors are devastating and unacceptable. Nigeria must respond by strengthening regulatory institutions, providing adequate funding, enforcing the law, and educating the public. A sustained, coordinated effort is essential to protect the nation’s food, beverage, and medicine supply chains and prevent another tragedy caused by products that should never have reached the market.