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Group Urges Youths To Exploit Opportunities In ICT

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5 years ago

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Young Innovators of Nigeria (YIN) has called on youths to leverage  the many opportunities available in the technology ecosystem to improve their lives.
Founder of YIN, Mr Andrew Abu, made the call in Abuja,  yesterday in an event held by the organisation to commemoration the country’s 61st Independence Anniversary.
The event was held virtually, with  the theme “Promoting Youth Participation in Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Good Governance’’.
Abu said that technology was the only means to lifting people out of poverty and youths should leverage on it.
“The technology ecosystem in the country in the past two years has attracted over one billion dollars. This means that there are lots of opportunities in the ecosystem,’’ Abu said.
He further said that the citizens should learn to trust the country’s indigenous tech ecosystem because it had the capacity to drive the digital economy of the country.
Chief Executive Officer, High Tech Centre for Nigeria, Dr. Wunmi Hassan, said the youth needed to engage their minds by re-imagining themselves in the technology ecosystem and be problem solvers.
Hassan also called on the youth to reposition themselves to fit into the evolving system, realign their solutions and reframe their solutions’ target.
“You need to understand the stakeholders meet with them because irrespective of the solutions you have, it cannot work without the stakeholders.
“The youth need to engage in public policies, the road maps, and frameworks of government,’’ Hassan said.
She added that youths should identify their talents, develop them and invest in themselves as individuals and organisations because the technology ecosystem was transforming the world at a rapid pace.
The Chief Executive Officer, JIDAW Systems Ltd.,  Mr Jide Awe, said the youth had to be innovative in their approach to addressing problems.
“Other countries, companies are producing what you want to produce and for you to take the market from them, you have to be innovative.
“Innovation and entrepreneurship is demand driven and should be utilised to solve problems.
“We also need to build capacity in our means of collaboration, in problem solving, networking, our social dimensions need to be developed and we also need to build our finance,’’ Awe said.
He urged the youth to focus on what the society encourages in their process of being innovative and pay attention to government policies because it drives development processes.
“Policies drive everything, so you need to pay attention to formulated policies, query the implementation process, make contributions and demands,’’ he said.
He, however, added that government organisations should in turn engage the youth in policy formations because it fostered good governance and transparency.
Mr Kevin O’Reilly, a representative of MassChallenge, a global zero-equity start up accelerator, encouraged the youth to participate in their programmes.
He said that MassChallenge was partnering with universities, media, influencers through the Federal Government to help start-ups in the development of their ideas and innovations.
O’Reilly said MassChallenge was  offering its  support through a programme “Bridge to MassChallenge” , whereby insight, expertise, experience, connections to help build local ecosystems and drive job creation were being provided.
“Bridge to MassChallenge strengthens innovation ecosystems, drives the creation of high quality jobs by supporting entrepreneurs and connecting them to our global network,’’ he said.

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

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6 days 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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6 days 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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