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NASSI Trains 50 MSMEs On Capacity Building, Industrial Skills

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7 years ago

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The National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), says it has trained 50 operators of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the FCT, Abuja on capacity building and industrial skills.
The Acting Director-General, NASSI, Mrs Lolia Emakpore, said yesterday in Abuja that the 2019 MSMEs training focused on various areas of corporate governance, accessing fund, business establishment and sustenance.
Emakpore, also a legal practitioner, said that the capacity building training was aimed at preparing the MSMEs operators for investment purposes as well as position them to access funds with ease as it was a critical challenge in the sector.
According to her, NASSI is presently working with relevant partners to replicate the training in other states of the federation with an increase in the number of industrialists to train.
“Our major challenge has been funding to support our members, they look up to us to assist in accessing funds through micro finance outfits which provides funding for small business start-ups and scale-up in Nigeria.
“Most MSMEs operators cannot access funds, so the training is geared toward preparing their businesses to be able to access funds from various intervention grants available.
“Subsequently, we will go into training on Information Communication Technology (ICT), globalising business, cosmetology, food processing, manufacturing and packaging, among others,’’ she said.
Emakpore said that the association was committed to delivering its mandate by encouraging the growth of micro, small and medium industrialists across the nation.
According to her, most times some of the MSMEs are not well structured and do not have their businesses properly registered but with NASSI’s collaboration with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), their companies are being properly registered.
She said that apart from funding, the MSMEs were also being faced with unfavourable pronouncement or government policies which could affect them adversely.
The industrialists noted one of such pronouncement as the recent National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) pronouncement on multiple tariffs.
She expressed gladness that the tariff was withdrawn  and NAFDAC was advised to consult major stakeholders including NASSI next time to work out modalities to implement such policy so that it would not affect the MSMEs ecosystem adversely.
“The MSMEs constitutes more than 40 million in the country and 90 per cent employment come from them, so the slightest policy direction outcome can affect or impact negatively on businesses,’’ she noted.
The acting director-general said that the association was also set up to promote effective communication as well as to encourage cross fertilization of ideas, innovations and technological inventions to enhance productivity among members.
Commending the Federal Government on the recently signed African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreements, she underscored the need for it to sustain policies that would drive the agreement within Nigeria.
“We need to tidy up our home front, it has opened up another area of training for us to educate people on the agreement as regards to standardisation, presentation and hand-holding businesses for MSMEs to fit in properly.
“The market is actually for the MSMEs than for the bigger businesses,’’ the industrialist said.
NASSI, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) established by the Federal Government to develop the MSME’s, strives to design and create programmes to encourage youth entrepreneurship and mentoring.

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

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1 week ago

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May 18, 2026

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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.
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?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
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Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

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1 week ago

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May 18, 2026

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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
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FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

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2 weeks ago

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May 13, 2026

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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.
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