Business

Nigeria Ready For Business, Shettima Tells Foreign Investors

Published

3 years ago

July 28, 2023

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has urged foreign investors to take advantage of the opportunities in Nigeria, declaring that the country is now ready for business.
He noted that the combination of Nigeria’s young, energetic population and the agenda of the new administration placed the country far ahead of others in the region.
Shettima made the call, Tuesday, in his remarks at a side event of the ongoing United Nation Food Systems Summit in Rome, Italy, themed, “Scaling up of multi-stakeholder collaboration and investments in the implementation of the food systems pathways in Nigeria”.
According to the Vice President in a statement by his media office, “we have the capacity of transforming the demograhic bulge into demographic dividends or it will be the demographic disaster that will consume all of us.
“Nigeria will surpass the United States as the third most populous nation on earth and the population is young. The median age is 19.
“With determined leadership and the support of the global community, we believe, as eternal optimists do, that there is hope in the horizon”, the VP stated.
He also expressed hope that the expected transformation can take place on the back of what he described as “building blocks that already exists in Nigeria”.
“They include government’s recent declaration of a state of emergency on food security, moving food and water to the purview of National Security Council; the country’s renewed commitment to food and nutrition since the Nutrition Conference of 2022; the National Food and Micro-Nutrient Intake Survey and the National State Level Food Systems”, he explained.
Speaking on improving collaboration between government and the private sector, Shettima said, “focusing on agribusiness and the understanding that investment that will transform food system will come from the private sector with the government providing the enabling environment, will scale-up investment in the country”.
He further explained that “Nigerian government, together with domestic and international finance institutions, scaled up the Value Chain Development Programme approach for the Special Agro Processing Zones Programme with an impressive investment of $521million from the IFAD, from the IsDB, and from the AfDB.
“The success story of the value chain development programme speaks for itself”, he noted.
Continuing, he said the programme “has empowered 100, 000 small scale farmers to enter into engagement with some of the food marketing companies in the world, enabling them to lift their families out of the poverty trap.
“The VCDP/SAPZ programme really represents unique and concrete model for mobilizing funds for investment in support of our national food systems transformation programme, the transition to more yielding, healthier, more equitable and more sustainable food system”.
Stating that the next frontier of global development faces Africa, Vice President Shettima said Nigeria remains critical to the success or failure of the transition and assured that the new leadership in Nigeria is working hard to position the country on the path of growth.
He said, “we have a President who has a private sector background and a Vice President who is also from the private sector. We have a President who has the knack for selecting the best to drive the process.
“Be rest assured that the next frontiers for global development is facing Africa and Nigeria will make or mar that transition”.
Present at the event were Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to FAO/IFAD/WFP in Rome, Mr Yaya Olaniran; Nigerian Ambassador to Italy, Amb. Mfawa Abam; Deputy Chief of Staff to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Amb. Ibrahim Hadejia, among other senior government officials.

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.