Business

Ministry Inaugurates Youth Empowerment Scheme

Published

14 years ago

January 25, 2012

The Rivers State Ministry of Employment Generation and Empowerment has commenced the empowerment of unemployed Rivers youth through its Strategic Waste Recycling Programme.

The programme, which enjoys the support of the State Ministry of Environment and the Environmental Sanitation Authority (RSESA), involves the payment of N1000.00 for every 100 empty plastic bottles or metal cans returned to the Employment Ministry by an unemployed youth in the state.

Addressing newsmen shortly after the programme’s kick-off in Port Harcourt on Friday, the commissioner in charge of the ministry, Dr. Ipalibo Harry, said that the exercise is aimed at engaging unemployed young men in the face of very limited availability of white-collar jobs.

“Part of my job is to ensure that we keep our young men engaged in one form of work or the other; and it looks to me like the opportunities available for white-collar jobs are very, very slim. For that reason, the state government has mandated that we do whatever that is possible to keep our young men engaged. So, this came in necessarily to assist our young men by way of empowering them while at the same time solving the environmental problems that we experience in this part of the country,” he said.

Besides the economic gains to the youth, the programme is also aimed at reducing the incidence of flooding in the state.

According to the commissioner, the state governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, has approved that flooding can actually be reduced in the state by taking away the plastics that are found in the drains and on the streets; and because a good number of our young men are idle, the thinking to get their minds engaged in picking these recyclables and exchanging such for money became very necessary.

He described the programme as being strategic in the sense that it is also intended to domesticate the practice of waste segregation whereby people establish different receptacles within their homes for putting degradable and non-degradable wastes.

“Over time, the Ministry of Environment has been struggling to teach our people to do this, but by this conduct you will see that if somebody knows that he is going to get money from plastics at home, he will begin to separate such from the degradable waste. And gradually you will see that the culture of waste segregation from home will begin to grow.”

Harry, therefore, urged unemployed youths in the state to take advantage of the scheme to generate income for themselves while waiting for better job openings. He advised such persons to take their collections to Plot 11, Sani Abacha Road, near Elkan Terrace Hotel, Port Harcourt, where officials of his ministry will be on hand to attend to them between 10.00am and 2.00pm daily.

He said that the programme will continue as long as there are empty plastic bottles and cans to be taken out of the streets, but that his ministry intends to undertake a review of the exercise in March.

Some of the young men and women who received instant cash payments after turning in their recyclables expressed delight at the ministry’s youth empowerment initiative.

One of them, Bapakaye Wariboko, said that he heard about the programme over the radio and then mobilised some holidaying school kids whom he paid over N70,000 to gather the 16,300 plastic bottles from which he had just earned N163,000.

The political science student of the University of Port Harcourt who hopes to realise about N1.5 million from the programme, said that the money will be used mainly to pay school fees and also procure textbooks at the resumption of classes after the ongoing ASUU strike.

Amos Taribo of Degema Local Government Area is another beneficiary. He learnt about the programme through a friend. The 450 plastic bottles he submitted were mainly pickings from bars and restaurants.

Other participants who spoke with The Tide while awaiting their turns during the counting process also lauded the scheme but decried the use of manual counting method instead of a time-saving weighing machine.

Over 280,000 empty plastic bottles and cans were handed in before 2.00pm on that day.

Ibelema Jumbo

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.