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Okowa Charges ICAN To Propel Nation’s Economic Growth
Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa has charged the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) to explore new corridors of national planning to propel the nation’s economic growth.
Okowa gave the charge last Friday when the 56th President of ICAN, Dame Onome Adewuyi, led members of the executive on a courtesy visit to him at the Government House, Asaba.
He paid glowing tribute to accountants for their sterling contributions to the growth and development of the nation’s economy.
He, however, challenged them and other similar professionals to enunciate plans that could save the nation from its current economic challenges.
He underscored the need for the country to begin to plan for its ever increasing population. According to him, without proper planning, rising population will continue to retard the country’s economic development and national growth.
He regretted that successive administrations at the state and federal levels had virtually become fees and salary-paying establishments.
He said the development had left most states with no money for capital development.
“And it is capital development that truly runs the economy of states and the nation,’’ Okowa said.
“The budgets of the states and Federal Government are characterised by huge recurrent expenditure in terms of salary payment, overhead, repayment and servicing of debts.
“There has to be a mix between recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure.
“If we spend all our monies on recurrent expenditure without having a reasonable amount for capital expenditure, we will not be doing any good to the state and our nation.
“The impact is not only on the states. At the level of Federal Government, it’s quite a problem. “Today, we are almost living virtually on borrowing to be able to execute capital projects.
“It’s a problem all of us have to look into and it’s something ICAN can look into and offer your advice to both the federal government and states.
“The challenge is there but there must be a process to address it gradually because if we do not do so, we will be getting to a situation where we definitely embarrass ourselves as a nation.
“We hope that we don’t get to that point in the history of this nation,” the governor said.
He expressed concern that the country was “busy everyday planning our expenditure without planning the population of the nation.
“A nation that continues to plan for its expenditutre without planning its population is a nation that is not truly planning at all.
“It’s a big problem because we are in a nation today where our economy is dwindling.
“We are not expanding the economy the way we thought we should be able to do.
“Again, the economy is growing at a very low rate and the population of the nation is growing at a very high rate.
“There is no level of planning, no matter how intelligent that person is, that he can truly plan in such a space.
“I believe that it’s something that all of us who have the knowledge of planning must speak out to let this nation know that wherever we are at the moment, there is need to begin to look very closely inward.”
Earlier, Adewuyi commended the governor for the new paradigm he introduced into the leadership and governance of the state.
She described capacity-building as the primary mandate of ICAN.
She lauded the governor for his administration’s massive investment and transformation in the education sector.
“At ICAN, our mandate is to consistently act in public interest and we collaborate with stakeholders across all sectors, whether public or private, in the promotion of accountability, transparency and good governance.
“We believe that the national resources, if adequately managed and accounted for, are sufficient to guarantee decent lives and livelihood for the over 200 million Nigerians,” Adewuyi said.
She said that ICAN had concluded plans to establish a university in order to support stakeholders in the educational value-chain at bridging the gap in tertiary education in the country.
“We plan that the specialised university will commence with postgraduate courses in social and management science.
“It will open for admission by the next academic session in September,” she said.
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The trapatriate Unions conprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), and the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (ATSSSAN), has given 72 hours Ultimatum to Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria FAAN, Omagwa Airport, Portharcourt to revise its recent decision on the concession of Tollgates and Parks to private hands.
The chairman of the Trapatriate Union, Comrade Felix Ohwoefe gave the Ultimatum yesterday immediately after the joint Unions meeting held at the Airport office of the union, Omagwa, Portharcourt.
Comrade Ohwoefe who double as the chairman of the National Union of NUATE said the two Unions have agreed to take drastic actions if the Authority of the Airport declined to step down it’s decision of concessioning the major revenue points to private hands.
According to the Union chairman, the two union was not aware of the concession plans, and that there were no due process to the procedures.
Comrade Ohwoefe said any attempt for the Airport Management to decline it’s demands towards the concession will result to barricading all entrance and access points of the Airport.
Expressing the the challenges associated to the concession, the Union Chairman said the gesture might resulted to massive sack of workers in the Airport.
The chairman also expressed foul play on the part of either individuals or government in the terms and conditions so given to the concessionaires, demanding the reasons of contracting the automated points to private hands for only 14 millions, when the FAAN is presently generating over 28 million naira monthly, even when the tariff was not reviewed upwards.
He describes the process to the procedures as fraud with intention to increase unemployment in the state.
“We are not against the concession of the Automated points, but due process must be followed. If government is concessioning the place, we are asking what will happen to our workers in the existing units.
“Secondly, if the concessionaires is taken over, they must pay higher than what the FAAN is generating presently, we are generating to the Management over 28 Millions monthly, but we had that the private company is required to pay only 14 Millions monthly, which is far below 5 percents of what we are generating presently, even when the tariff is increased, which means there is a foul play.
“The process is fraud either on the part of individual in the Government, or Government itself.
” The unions is saying no to the Concession until we come to a terms of understanding ourselves., we are afraid of loosing workers, we don’t want to loose any workers if due process is not followed in this hard of economy, we even demanding for employment of more workers in FAAN.” Comrade Ohwoefe said.
The Union used the opportunity to called on the minister of aviation, and the President of the Country, Bola Tinubu to intervene.
When contacting the Management of the Airport Authority through the head of Corporate Affairs, Dr Ngozi V. Onyeanwuna-Nwosu, she said the management has not given her the approval to say something.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has announced designated pick-up points for individuals wishing to obtain their Go-Cashless cards ahead of the March 1, 2026 deadline.
This was announced in a statement signed by the Director Public Affairs and Consumer protection, Henry Agbebire and made available to the Tide last Friday in Portharcourt.
According to the statement, Go-Cashless cards is at all FAAN commercial offices and access gates of Airports in the country .
The release further stated that cards will also be available at designated branches of Fidelity Bank Plc from March 16, 2026.
FAAN in the statement said the cashless policy followed the Federal Government directive mandating all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to transition to a cashless system to enhance transparency and reduce revenue leakages as well improve transaction traceability in the Aviation sector.
FAAN reiterated its commitment to full compliance with the directive, appealing to the public for their understanding and cooperation during the transition period.
FAAN also inform that the Go-Cashless cards can still be obtained at the designated points after the March 1, deadline.
The Authority assures airport users that the initiative will promote faster, safer, and more convenient transactions across its airports nationwide.
By: Enoch Epelle
Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has announced the launch of the second edition of its flagship women-empowerment initiative, the HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 (HAP 2.0).
According to the report, the programme is designed to equip women with practical, income?generating skills and structured pathways to entrepreneurship.
Accordingly, the HAP 2.0 will build on the success of its inaugural edition held in 2023.
During media chat with journalists to herald the launch of HAP 2.0, the Divisional Head, Product Development, Fidelity Bank Plc, Osita Ede, explained that the initiative has been enhanced to deliver greater impact.
He said HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 reflects their commitment to continuous improvement, having evaluated feedback from the first edition, they have returned with stronger partnerships and deeper mentorship programmes to ensure that women acquire not just skills, but sustainable economic opportunities.
Mr Ede, who said the programme is guided with real?world learning, also said that participants will undergo intensive apprenticeship training under reputable institutions and industry experts across selected fields such as hair styling, shoe making, auto mechatronics, and interior decoration.
Additionally, he said HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme 2.0 goes beyond skills acquisition by offering participants a wide range of business advisory services.
These include business and financial literacy training, mentorship support throughout the apprenticeship journey, access to Fidelity Bank’s women?focused and SME financial solutions, as well as guidance on business formalisation and growth strategies.
Emphasizing the bank’s vision further, Ede said: “By integrating structured mentorship with entrepreneurial development, Fidelity Bank is positioning women not just as trainees, but as future employers, innovators, and economic contributors within their communities.
This aligns with our mandate to help individuals grow, businesses thrive, and economies prosper”.
It is noteworthy that interested participants are encouraged to indicate their interest by visiting https://bit.ly/
It is important to note that Fidelity Bank Plc is ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, with a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 10 million customers through digital banking channels, with 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
It is reported that the Bank is a recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.
By: Nkpemenyie mcdominic, Lagos
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