Business

Minister Pegs Annual Capital Flight Loss At N2 Trillion

Published

14 years ago

July 27, 2012

Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, says Nigeria loses more than N2 trillion annually to capital flight following inability of indigenous ship owners to fully participate in crude oil exports.

The minister disclosed this at a one-day presidential retreat on maritime safety held at the Presidential Villa.

The retreat with the theme: “Harnessing the Potential of Nigeria’s Maritime Sector for Sustainable Economic Development’’ was organised to generate concrete and implementable initiatives to improve the sector.

In her remarks, the minister decried the lack of proper implementation of the cabotage laws to allow indigenous participation in shipping.

“On the issue of increasing local participation in the sector and cabotage, the Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria has said that we now lose over N2 trillion annually in capital flight to foreign countries which own vessels used to lift about 150 million tons of cargoes including oil products from this country as no Nigerian flagship is currently plying international routes.

“Nigerian-owned vessels make up less than 1 per cent of the global fleet and are quite old; on average, 30 years of age.

“Increasing Nigeria’s participation in this sector will not only ensure that most of these incomes are retained locally, but will lead to increased jobs for Nigerians.

“As you will see from the Mackenzie presentation later, Philippines for example have been able to position itself as a global supplier of seafarers, creating a lot of jobs and significant foreign income for the country. Why can’t we replicate this in Nigeria?’’

Okonjo-Iweala also said that security threats in the Gulf of Guinea of which Nigeria is a major stakeholder had steadily risen from 45 per cent in 2010 to 64 per cent in 2012 threatening Nigeria’s more than 600 million dollars potential in fishing business.

The minister said the development had created major economic problems for the country and should be urgently addressed.

On the issue of port reforms, she said a lot had been done in improving the operation of the ports over the last few months with 10 per cent of the imported goods now taking less than seven days to clear.

She said though there had been significant improvement from what obtained years back, the target of achieving 48 hours clearance with complete documentation was yet to be attained.

“We want to use the time today to discuss what it will take to accelerate our reform programme and what is actually getting in the way.’’

Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said, the ministry was worried about the non-participation of indigenous ship owners in crude oil lifting.

He said government would ensure proper implementation of the cabotage laws with a view to building capacity of indigenous ship owners.

Umar said government would also review the policy that gave freedom to companies that bought crude oil to choose the company that would freight the oil.

“We are going to look at this and determine whether it is a legislation or a policy issue.

“I for one do not share the idea that Nigerians should be deprived patronage by the international oil company after using their hard earn money to buy vessels, it is absolutely wrong, we have to empower our people,’’ he said.

The Director-General of NIMASA, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, said it had made significant numbers of arrest of oil thieves and illegal bunkerers.

He identified bureaucracy and lack of powers for the agency to prosecute those arrested as some of the major challenges NIMASA was facing.

“The greatest challenge of the maritime agency is bureaucracy, the civil service culture of doing things.

“This is an agency that is in charge of emergency responsibilities and you now apply the normal bureaucratic ways of getting things done; this is frustrating.’’

Akpobolokemi said NIMASA had identified certain laws that required amendments to make its job easier and more effective.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Maritime Services, Mr Leke Oyelese, thanked the president for the retreat and the Navy and the Police for their cooperation.

He said the Inter-Agency Maritime Agency Operations Committee put in place by government would help in addressing most of the identified problems.

Business

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

Published

8 hours 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

8 hours 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

5 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.