Niger Delta

CRSG Inaugurates Minimum Wage Negotiation Team

Published

6 years ago

January 17, 2020

The Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has inaugurated the state public service negotiating team for the implementation of the new minimum wage.
Inauguration which took place at the Conference Room of the Deputy Governor, Governor’s Office, Calabar, was performed by the deputy governor, Professor Ivara Esu, who represented the governor.
Ayade expressed the willingness of his administration to pay the new minimum wage of N30, 000.
He said, “We are only here to negotiate the consequential adjustments that will affect salaries from Grade levels 7 to 17. In doing that, we carefully selected this team of technocrats and strong labour people not just from the state civil service but from the local government for the negotiations”.
The Governor urged the team to bear in mind the state’s financial reality. “In carrying out this negotiation, you must ensure that you think about the purse of the state as in the entire South-South zone, Cross River is the only state that does not get a penny as extra revenue coming from oil,” he added.
He advised the team “not to go ahead and negotiate what will cause us to start owing salaries, or make workers clap for you that you worked so hard and at the end of the day, we are not able to pay or we begin to wait for two or three months in order to put money together to pay one month.”
Ayade, who reminded the team of his labour friendly disposition, noted that as a governor who has never derailed from paying salaries as and when due, he decided to include “the commissioner for finance, state
Accountant General and the Auditor General into the team to show you our books so that you see exactly what we have and so that you don’t negotiate from the air.”
The team’s terms of reference include determining the effective date for the implementation of the new minimum wage, determining and recommending any other issue incidental to the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage. The committee is to present its report on or before January 31, 2020.
Speaking on behalf of the team, the chairman of the negotiation team, Dr Chris Ekeng Ita said, “the first job has been made easy by the caliber of people that are meant to negotiate because they are knowledgeable.
“On the union side, they have the capacity and on the government side, we have the capacity to negotiate and amicably come to a conclusion.” Ita, who is also the state’s Head of Service, said there had never been a time that Governor Ayade said he would not pay the new minimum wage.
He said the disposition of the governor gives hope that the assignment given to them will be finished in a very short while. “I don’t think we will take time to come to a conclusion because the main issues of minimum wage has been tackled from levels one to six, the minor issue which we are coming to negotiate should not tear us apart. We will go into it very fast and arrive at a conclusion,” he noted.

Friday Nwagbara, Calabar

Niger Delta

Navy Pledges Improved Patrols, Welfare Boost For Personnel

Published

21 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, has pledged to ensure improved welfare for personnel and more patrols on the maritime corridors of the nation.

He disclosed this during an on the spot assessment of things at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC), Calabar, on Wednesday.

According to him, there is the need for officers to always be ready, by improving on their welfare, in a bid to keep the country secured.

“I am here for an on the spot assessment of our operations and like you have seen, I have also gone round to check the ongoing buildings.

”These are welfare issues and for us to be able to have our men ready and keep us secured, their welfare needs to be catered for.

“So, we are here to kill two birds with one stone, which are basically operations and welfare issues.

”I am happy with what the command is doing; it is doing well in terms of keeping the maritime environment safe.

“We will continue doing what we are doing and improve on that, which is patrol of the waters and increase in the area of surveillance”, he stated.

As part of his visit, Abbas commissioned the 12×1 Junior Rates Accommodation Block A and B, at the Navy Barracks at Atimbo in Calabar.

The naval chief also inspected other ongoing projects in the Akim Barracks, 1006 flats and the Navy hotel, all within Calabar.

Niger Delta

Delta Begins Uromi Junction Flyover Construction

Published

24 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Delta State Government says it has began construction work on the long-awaited Uromi Junction Flyover Bridge in Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of the state.

Director-General (DG) of the Delta State Bureau for Orientation and Communications, Dr. Fred Oghenesivbe, confirmed the development to newsme in Asaba.

According to him, heavy-duty construction equipment have arrived the site, a project which is being handled by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, one of the country’s leading construction firms.

Oghenesivbe, described the flyover as a massive infrastructure project with far-reaching socio-economic benefits for the area.

He said the project would significantly transform the Agbor metropolis by easing traffic congestion, improving the city’s aesthetics, and boosting commercial activities within the local government area.

He described the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, as a promise-keeper and pragmatic leader whose administration remains committed to infrastructure development and economic growth across the state.

The DG expressed confidence in Julius Berger’s capacity to deliver the project within record time and according to the highest construction standards.

“The Uromi Junction serves as a major link between different parts of the country but has recently been plagued by severe traffic congestion, making vehicular movement increasingly difficult”, he noted.

He urged residents to cooperate with the contractor and safeguard construction materials and equipment to ensure the timely completion of the project.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Rejects Ekid Ownership Claim Of Stubbs Creek

Published

24 hours ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State Government has rejected claims by the Ekid People’s Union that it owns land within the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, describing such assertions as “false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

In a recent statement, signed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, the state government said it was compelled to respond in the “overriding public interest,” despite a pending court case instituted by the same group.

The government stated that contrary to claims circulating in the media, the historic case of Ntiaro and Ikpak vs. Ibok Etok Akpan and Edoho Ekid, decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1918, did not vest ownership of Stubbs Creek land in any ethnic group or community.

“The final judgement merely dismissed the claims before the court and granted title to no party whatsoever”, the government stated, adding that “any assertion to the contrary is false, misleading and a distortion of the judicial record.”

According to the statement, the land was lawfully reserved by the colonial government under Forest Reserve Order No. 45 of 1930, later amended in 1941, 1955 and 1962, with “the principal rights of the land forfeited to the Government upon the change of status.”

It said the area has since been administered under applicable laws by the Akwa Ibom State Government, which “has at all times acted within its lawful authority in the management and allocation of land in the area for legitimate public and economic purposes.”

Citing the 1999 Constitution and the Land Use Act, the government stated that all land in the state is vested in the governor to be held in trust for the common benefit of Nigerians, noting that claims of absolute ancestral ownership are subject to existing laws.

The government “categorically denies allegations of fraud or misrepresentation” regarding Stubbs Creek or investments there and warned it would take “appropriate legal steps” against any individual or group publishing false or defamatory material capable of undermining public confidence or discouraging investment

The statement also assured the federal government of “full access and Right of Way” for the proposed Coastal Highway through any part of the state.

The government statement followed an earlier report in which the Ekid People’s Union accused Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State of making comments that allegedly linked the community to terrorism, while he was defending the Coastal Highway project passing through the Stubbs Creek.

Ekid People’s Union maintained that the people of Ekid are the original owners of the land known as Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, arguing that their ancestral ownership predates colonial rule.

The group cited historical occupation, customary ownership and a 1918 Privy Council case, which it claimed affirmed Ekid rights over the territory.

The union also accused the Akwa Ibom State Government of misrepresenting history to justify taking over the land for commercial interests and the proposed Coastal Highway, an allegation the state government has denied.

The group rejected any suggestion linking the Ekid people to criminality or terrorism, insisting they were peaceful citizens defending their ancestral land through lawful and civic means.