Business
Eradiri Emerges AAASME’s President
The All Africa Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (AAASME) has elected a Nigerian-born and former Director-General of the Bayelsa State Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency, Dr. Ebiekure Jasper Eradiri, as its President.
The election, as contained in a statement made available to the newsmen, said Eradiri was unanimously elected for meritoriously serving the AAASME for 6 years as Secretary General, then two and half months as Interim Administrator.
According to the Statement, a 13-member Executive Committee was also put in place to work with the President in achieving the Objectives and Mandates set out by the AAASME Constitution.
Eradiri in his acceptance speech pledged to discharge the assignment with the Fear of God and to the benefit of Africa’s 100 million SME ecosystem.
He further thanked the past Executive and the entire AAASME family for the high confidence reposed in him and assured them that he will not betray their trust.
He said his leadership would be guided by what he called the “four cardinal C’s”, namely “Cooperation, Collaboration, Coordination, and Communication”, which he regards as the pillars of his administration .
He reiterated his desire to broaden the work with partners, Alliances and Friends of Africa to deepen engagements for a Continental SME Revolution to birth economic prosperity as enshrined in AU Agenda 2063 #TheAfricaWeWant.
Meanwhile, the World SME Day would be celebrated on June 27 with AAASME hosting on the Margins the Africa SME Roundtable, with a side event at Abuja, Nigeria, from June 28 to 29, 2024.
The President of AAASME also used the opportunity to Congratulate, The Africa Development Bank for 60 years of Service on the Continent, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for its 60 Anniversary, as well as International Trade Center for its 60 yrs Anniversary and the African Union over the adoption and ratification of Continental Definition for SMEs which has been an advocacy item of AAASME for the past 6 yrs.
Before his election, Dr. Eradiri had served in various capacities which include: Pioneer Secretary-General of AAASME, Director-General of the Bayelsa State Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency; Senior Special Assistant to Governor of Bayelsa State of Nigeria on Small and Medium Enterprises Development (2012-2020); Member of the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME); Board member of BDIC Organic Polymers Ltd and Bayelsa Enterprise Hubs Management Limited; and Technical Advisor to Bayelsa State Government on Economic Development and Liaison (2022-2024).
Other positions previously held include Global Chief Enterprise Officer, SureAid Africa Holdings Consortium with over a decade of experience in the SME development space as an entrepreneur and consultant, amongst other boards of organisations in Africa and around the globe.
Lilian Peters
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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
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
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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