Business

RMRDC To Partner Rotary Club On Incubators’ Production

Published

14 years ago

August 15, 2012

The Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC),
has said that it would partner Rotary Club International to research the
production of local incubators, to save the lives of pre-mature babies.

Prof. Peter Onwualu, Director General of RMRDC, made this
known in an interview withour correspodent at the swearing-in of the new Rotary
club president in Gwarinpa, Abuja.

“If you look at what is happening presently, Nigeria has more
or less become a dumping ground for imported technologies.

“Almost all the products we consume in this country are
imported.

“I’ve seen that one of the projects that the Rotary Club,
Gwarinpa, has listed is the purchase of incubators for some hospitals and I
think we can go a little further.

“And of cause, looking at the picture, I asked myself who
makes incubators in Nigeria, and I know that incubators I see— that is
made-in-Nigeria— are incubating eggs for the poultry industry.

“I believe that the work I do at RMRDC is actually trying to
develop the non-oil sector; we are at the point where we can improve the local
content from the present low level to a very high level,’’ he said.

According to him, the RMRDC will ensure the sponsorship
through the research grant scheme.

“We give researchers grants to do research and come up with technology; so, we are going to partner with Rotary, Rotary will assist us in identifying potential researchers and also in supervising the project.

“But the council will co-fund the project, give research
grants to whoever wins the competition and allow people to compete and show how
they can do it,’’ he said.

Onwualu added that currently, most of the industries in the
country import about 80 per cent of their raw materials and over 80 per cent of
finished products are being imported into the country.

He said that for the country to make progress, especially in
line with the transformation agenda, there was need for support for local
manufacturing.

This, he said, would go a long way in bringing about
economic growth and also creating jobs for the teeming Nigerian youths.

“Any economy that cannot produce, cannot make it, it will
just become a conduit for selling products already produced by other people.

“When we import, we are actually exporting jobs to other
countries; so, I see the incubator as one area that we can do research to find
how it can be designed locally and manufactured locally.

“And I believe that if we succeed, we may be able to own one
or two industries that can manufacture baby incubators in Nigeria.

“I believe that in the long run, the cost will become
cheaper and it will become more affordable to more Nigerians,’’ he said

He said that the council had researched almost all the raw
materials in the country, including how to process cassava, oil palm, different
minerals, and secondary raw materials and most recently, on the Moringa crop.

“It can be used to treat so many things, we have researched
on Cashew and now we have a factory based on local technology for adding value
to cashew.

“Currently, we are driving a project on establishing
clusters of Small and Medium Enterprises in different parts of the country,
based on research we have done within Nigeria and based on local technology.

“ So, in the case of the incubator, it has to be that the
design will use local material for its fabrication and manufacture, so that we
create jobs for our people and increase capability of our people to use
technology,’’ he said.

He added that the council had, in the last three years,
spent about N500 million in the area of research grants to people to come up
with technologies.

Business

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

Published

3 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

3 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.