Rivers
BoI, CloudNotte Task Educators On Strategic Funding For Dev
The Bank of Industry (BoI) Limited has called on school owners to embrace its robust plan to support schools across Nigeria with patient, innovative, and accessible financing.
The BoI Divisional Head, Medium Small Macro Enterprises (MSME), South-South, Mr. Pacqueens Irabor, made the call during a workshop, tagged “Educator’s Insight”, held in Port Harcourt.
Irabor said the bank’s plan was designed to drive national development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said the workshop was organised by the bank, in collaboration with Cloudnotte Limited, adding that the event had the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, with over 700 school owners and administrators in Rivers in attendance.
According to him, the programme aims to train and empower school owners with digital knowledge, skills, and tools to access MSME funds to improve learning and teaching in the country.
Irabor said the bank’s 2025-2027 Strategic Plan is focused on impact-driven development financing, structured around six priority themes under the acrostic D-MYGIC – Digital Economy, MSMEs, Youth and Skills, Gender, Infrastructure, Climate and Sustainability.
Schools, he explained, are uniquely positioned to help the bank achieve all the six focused areas of the strategic plan.
He introduced the project “Education Around Sustainable Enterprises” (EASE), a groundbreaking initiative, designed to transform schools from traditional learning centers into business-integrated environments, where students learn by doing.
“Project EASE proposes the integration of entrepreneurial ventures within school premises, such as digital hubs, agribusiness units, creative workshops, and clean energy labs.
“These ventures serve both as practical training platforms for students and additional revenue streams for school proprietors”, he said.
Irabor continued that the bank was ready to provide financing to schools for the acquisition of productive capital, including digital systems and educational software, solar energy solutions and inverters, and assets for commercial ventures and skills hubs.
He said the initiative was a strategic catalyst for achieving several UN SDGs, including SDG 4 – Quality Education, SDG 5 – Gender Equality, SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG 13 – Climate Action.
He listed the benefits of the initiative as hands-on exposure to real-world enterprises for students, access to affordable finance for school owners, new income streams from in-school enterprises, and improved learning outcomes for parents.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer, CloudNotte, an education technology company, Mary Matthew, said the company understood the problems faced by school owners, including access to finance, and deemed it necessary to collaborate with BoI to provide funds to schools.
Matthew stated that the company provides schools with technology and organises capacity building programmes for school owners, leaders, administrators, and decision makers.
She affirmed that CloudNotte’s goal was to position Nigerian schools on a greater pedestal, enabling them to confidently compete globally.
“We are committed to empowering educators with digital tools and innovation to facilitate access to quality and inclusive education for all learners in Africa”, she said.
Matthew advocated for equity education and called on the Federal and State Governments to invest more on education.
“Governments are trying, but they need to do more. The private sectors are trying, but when you look at the government schools, there is much to be done.
“We call on the Federal and State Governments to step up. Government should empower schools and also ensure that they provide them with access to the basic amenities that they need in order to improve the delivery of education in Nigeria”, she said.
She advised school owners to leverage the BoI School MSMEs Loans to grow smart schools.
She also urged them to prioritise spending that drives learning and enrollment, maintaining emergency funds and spending.
On their oart, she advised school owners to use computer-based test (CBT) system for their exams to improve in external exams, such as Joint Admission Matriculation Board examination.
By: Theresa Frederick & Charity Amiso
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Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited and its Joint Venture partners (JV) have inaugurated a multi-million-naira, state-of-the-art Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system at Obio Cottage Hospital in Port Harcourt.
The EMR system is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart, designed to assist healthcare providers in storing, managing, and accessing patient health information.
General Manager, Relations and Sustainable Development in Renaissance Energy, Mr Igo Weli, who did not disclose the cost of the project, inaugurated the facility in Port Harcourt.
Weli explained that the Obio Cottage Hospital, funded by Renaissance Energy JV, specialise in maternal, child, and primary healthcare services, and general medical care.
He said the decision to digitise the hospital’s operations formed part of a broader strategy to enhance healthcare delivery, patient care, and data management in Rivers.
“Obio Cottage Hospital has become a beacon of hope for thousands of families, providing affordable and accessible healthcare to residents.
“Over the years, there has been a growing demand for quality health services, increasing the urgency for innovation and efficiency in patient management”, he said.
Weli noted that healthcare delivery was rapidly evolving globally, necessitating the introduction of digital solutions to improve outcomes in Nigeria.
He remarked that for years, medical records had been manually documented, and presented significant challenges despite its merits,
The challenges, he noted, included difficulty in retrieving of patient history, the risk of misplaced records, delayed decision-making due to the absence of real-time data.
Others are included increased administrative burden on healthcare staff, and prolonged patient waiting times.
“With the implementation of the EMR system, we are boldly entering a new era of healthcare efficiency and patient-centred service delivery.
“This system will eliminate the traditional reliance on paper and folders, enable seamless documentation and retrieval of patient records, and significantly reduce waiting time.
“It will also enhance staff efficiency, reinforce data security and confidentiality, improve evidence-based decision-making, and create additional space, replacing bulky paper folders,” he added.
Weli reaffirmed the commitment of the Renaissance Energy JV to delivering efficient, timely, and high-quality healthcare services to the people of Rivers and Nigeria at large.
He noted that Obio Cottage hospital, established in 2010 under the Obio Community Health Insurance Scheme, had evolved into one of the most robust and enduring community-based health insurance models in Nigeria.
According to him, it has become both a national and international benchmark, demonstrating what is achievable when communities, government, and the private sector collaborate in pursuit of sustainable healthcare financing.
Also speaking, Dr. Vincent Nwachukwu, Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Health, reiterated the state government’s commitment to quality healthcare delivery.
He highlighted efforts being made to bridge existing gaps within the sector.
Nwachukwu commended Renaissance Energy JV for its sustained investments in healthcare and urged other corporate bodies to emulate the company’s contributions to public health in the state.
“Transitioning from paper-based to digital-based operations is no small feat and speaks volumes of Renaissance Energy’s deep commitment to the welfare of Nigerians,” he stated.
The Assistant Director, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr. Olatokunbo Various, described Obio Cottage Hospital as a ‘’lasting legacy that has made affordable healthcare accessible to thousands across Nigeria.’’
He noted that the NUPRC had adopted and recommended the hospital’s community-based insurance model as a standard for healthcare system management in the country.
Various expressed appreciation to Renaissance Energy for establishing a world-class healthcare facility at the heart of its host communities.
In his remark, the Paramount Ruler of Rumuobiokani Clan, Eze Ejims Wopara, expressed delight at the company’s sustained interventions in the Rumuobiokani community.
He noted that the hospital had played a vital role in sustaining and advancing the health and well-being of thousands of people across Nigeria through the provision of maternal and child healthcare.
By: Theresa Frederick & Charity Amiso
The Rivers Controller, Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS), Mr Felix Madumere, has reaffirmed commitment to inmates’ welfare, saying that the facility does not remand juveniles.
Madumere made the remark in Port Harcourt recently in a media briefing while reacting to allegations that one Mr. Sunday Baridi was remanded at the age of 14 before he was recently released.
He explained that Baridi was remanded in 2010 at the age of 22 and was released by the Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, in July, 2025 alongside 20 inmates during a jail delivery exercise.
He noted that the exercise was part of efforts to address prolonged detentions and severe prison congestion which the center was currently struggling with.
The Controller also said although Baridi had no case mate, he had a robbery charge against him, attributing his struggles with delayed justice to wrong case filling procedures.
According to him, the warrant was an awaiting trial, and that it was unfortunate that the charging was made to a Magistrate Court which lacked jurisdiction to handle that matter.
‘’So, the matter had to wait until the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) files information against him in the High Court.
“It is not the duty of the Nigeria Correctional Service to file cases in courts, it is only when such cases are properly filed that the Correctional Center can present suspects to face trials”, he said.
Madumere maintained that Baridi was of age, explaining that if he had come at the age of 14, the case would have been a juvenile one and would not have been accepted into NCS facility.
He said, “so the issue of remanding an underaged is not true.’’
He added that Baridi, who is currently mentally unstable, might have been remanded with a false data he gave to the Police upon arrest.
Madumere further said the suspect, following his poor mental state, had probably lost memory of his falsified name, making him to let out his real surname which is Kinanee.
He expressed regret that the NCS had not gone digital when Baridi was remanded, but said their operations were currently digitalised with pictures and necessary data attached to the suspects’ names.
The Controller, however, called on the state and local governments to support the funding of the centre, noting that the support would assist in providing better living conditions for the inmates.
Former Vice President of National Association of Civil Service Union, Comrade Menele Nzidee, has urged the Rivers State Government to review the state contributory pension scheme.
Comrade Nzidee, who spoke on a radio programme, “Viewpoint”, in Port Harcourt, observed that while the civil servants have judiciously paid their own percentage over the years, the state is yet to pay the backlog since the scheme commenced.
To this end, he recommended that government reviews the scheme or pay the backlog of contributions as required by law.
Besides that, he argued that in Rivers State, the civil service remains the major source of employment, and as such it will be unfair to subject workers to a scheme that will not sustain them in retirement.
In order to achieve this, he tasked labour leaders in the state to make a proposal for an effective pension scheme that will address the plight of retired civil servants, noting that the current scheme subjects workers to suffering after exiting service.
On the backlog of gratuity owed pensioners, Comrade Nzidee pleaded to the State Sole Administrator to clear the arrears as he revealed that about N50billion is currently being owed to retirees.
He urged the Sole Administrator to write his name in gold by clearing the backlog, saying that it will make his legacy indelible in the minds of workers.
The labour leaders also urged that pensions should reflect the current minimum wage increment, stressing that pensioners are yet to enjoy consequential adjustment in wages.
Reacting on the ongoing civil servants reverification exercise, Nzidee said the exercise can only be successful if necessary measures are put in place to reduce pressure and hiccups that will drain workers.
By: Kevin Nengia
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