Business

Return East-West Road Project To IDF, Reps Tell Minister Assure HYPREP Of Support On Clean-Up

Published

5 years ago

October 8, 2021

Miffed by the poor state of the Ogoni axis of the East-West Road in Rivers State, the House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities, has lent its voice to the need for the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio to return the construction of the road project to the Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) where it was originally placed by the Federal Government to facilitate its timely execution and completion.
This is even as the committee has promised to support the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) on the ongoing Ogoni clean-up project and other interventionist activities embarked upon by the agency to improve the wellbeing of the people.
The committee, which gave this indication during an oversight visit to some project sites in Eleme and Gokana Local Government Areas on Wednesday, strongly condemned the deplorable condition of the Ogoni axis of the East-West Road, and directed Senator Akpabio to return the road project to the IDF without further delay.
Speaking to newsmen on behalf of the committee members in Eleme, Chairman of the committee and member representing Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Dumnamene Dekor said the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs does not have the capacity to handle the road project, and therefore, directed the Minister to return it to the IDF forthwith.
He wondered why the road project was in the first place removed from the IDF by the Minister, stressing that the people of the Niger Delta deserve some measure of respect from the Federal Government, particularly in terms of giving them what rightly belongs to them and ameliorating their sufferings.
Dekor decried the poor state of the Ogoni axis of the East-West Road, irrespective of the fact that huge revenue resources are coming from the area, going by the calibre of companies and federal agencies and instructions located within the area.
The lawmaker noted that he had personally led protest over the deplorable state of the road, and regretted that nothing concrete was still being done by the Federal Government to change the trend, contending that the situation, as observed by the committee members during the oversight tour, wherein trailers and other heavy duty trucks were frequently falling on the road, was indicative of the number of lives being lost on the road on a daily basis.
Consequent upon this, Dekor affirmed that the East-West Road as it is today is terribly bad, and urged the Federal Government to do something urgently to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.
He placed on record that the road is an important carriageway leading to several states and communities within the Niger Delta region and even beyond, and therefore, contended that it deserves priority attention from the Federal Government.
Dekor, however, commended the new HYPREP team led by Prof. Philip Shekwolo for the good works it is doing in Ogoniland, and expressed delight that the committee members were able to visit some ongoing water project sites as well as clean-up sites in the area.
He assured that the committee would do what is right legislatively to ensure that the remediation project succeeds.
Dekor particularly praised the Rivers State Government and HYPREP for the massive water project in Eleme, and expressed the hope that the facility would be made functional soonest in order to provide potable drinking water to Ogoni people.
On his part, HYPREP’s Director of Operations, who is also overseeing the Coordinating Office in Port Harcourt, Prof. Philip Shekwolo thanked members of the committee for the oversight visit, and assured that the agency would continue to discharge its core mandate of improving the wellbeing including the health and other needs of the Ogoni people.
He said HYPREP had embarked on several interventionist activities and projects, geared towards improving the living conditions of the people, and listed the Centre of Excellence project, provision of training to the people, among other initiatives as some of the bold steps taken by the agency to better the lot of the people.
The committee members also paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman of Gokana Local Government Area,Hon Confidence Deko who assured that the council would work with the lawmakers to ensure that Ogoni people are given the best in the clean-up project, asserting that the local government was the worst hit by environmental degradation.
He, however, appealed to HYPREP to make its presence felt more in the local government, and assured of his administration’s readiness to work with it to give Ogoni people all that they deserve in the remediation project.
The committee visit ongoing clean-up sites in Kpor and B-Dere Communities in Gokana Local Government Area and the water project site in Eleme Local Government Area.

By: Donatus Ebi

Business

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

Published

3 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

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.

?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

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

3 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

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

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

1 week ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

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.