Business

Police Arrest Suspect Over Repackaged Food Products

Published

9 years ago

January 23, 2017

The police have arrested a suspect in Abia State allegedly involved in repackaging of expired food products.
Described as a worrisome act, the police said Nnenna Sunday, 28, has perfected the act of using chemicals to erase batch production numbers and expiry dates on snacks.
It is an act that endangers the lives of the buyers of the expired products, but yet reinforces the need for everyone to check well before buying any food product.
After her arrest, she claimed to be innocent and obeying the orders of her boss.
“I did not do anything. They have been doing it before I came. I am not the first or the second. I do not understand this type of temptation.
“My hands are clean. Police saw us wiping out the expiry dates on the snacks and it is my Oga (boss) that asked me to do it because that is how he has been doing it before he employed me,” the suspect said.
She further claimed to have joined the company recently and do not know the boss very well, but many onlookers at the scene questioned what her conscience had told her while she engaged in the act.
The arrest, according to the police was part of its determination to continue the implementation of the anti-crime strategies which are proactive in nature and geared towards ensuring a safe and secured environment for inhabitant of Abia State.
The Abia State Police Command that made the arrest reiterated its readiness to sustain the fight against heinous criminal activities by improving on the existing security strategies which include visibility policing, raiding of criminal hideouts, intelligence led policing amongst many others.
While parading the lady and other suspects in Umuahia arrested by the state police command, the Commissioner of Police, Adeleye Oyebade, told reporters that some were suspected fraudsters.
He disclosed that the area commanders, divisional police officers and all specialised outfit in the command had been reminded to re-invigorate and re-engineer the aggressive anti-crime strategies to ensure a free environment.
Adeleye called on every citizen to partner with the police to maintain a peaceful atmosphere and warned that procession from any group in whatever name would not be tolerated in the state as the fundamental right of all citizens must be protected.
This is coming just as members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had staged a rally they said was to support ‘their man’, President Donald Trump.
“I want to appreciate all those that are partnering with the police, I have said it that we are going to practice reassurance policing.
“It is part of reassurance policing that the members of the public gives us information and we use the information to combat the crime and menace of armed robbers on the highways.
“I want to encourage everybody to be security conscious. Security is everybody’s business. Please, feel free to report any strange face or movement to the nearest police.
“I am also using this opportunity to warn on the members of the Movement for Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and IPOB to ensure that they do not come out to negate the constitutional provision of this country called Nigeria.
“This is because they can never be a republic within a republic. Therefore the Nigeria Police would continue to ensure that all the law abiding citizens that upheld the tenets of freedom of movement do not use such to disrupt the movement of other persons or people in the same society,” he stated.
The commissioner further reassured all residents of safety of their lives and property, saying they were statutory responsibility of the police.
“We shall continue to do that to ensure that business thrive in Abia State and to ensure that the existing peace is not compromise,” he promised.
Some of the suspects specialised in stealing Enugu Electricity Distribution cables from the transformer while some were members of a gang of notorious criminals terrorising Elughu Nkporo Ohafia Local Government Area.
Ogbonna Ifegwu, who is a 40-year-old man, allegedly stole components of a vandalised EEDC transformer.
He said: “I sell scraps so when I saw the cables on a damaged transformer, I removed it thinking that it was not useful. I took it as a scrap”.
One of the notorious gangster, Nkeiru John Onuoha, claimed that they did not commit any crime.
“We did not commit any crime, what happen is that after the local government election held in December 2016, we decided to hang around to collect our money from one “Skypo”, that was how we were arrested,
“I am not a thief. I live in Lagos. I just came back during the Christmas,” he claimed.
The arrests of the criminals, according to the police led to recovering of huge amounts of money and guns from suspects. Police said all the 25 paraded suspects, on completion of investigation, would be charged.

Business

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

Published

2 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

2 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

7 days 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.