Business

Finland, Austria, Norway Partner Rivers On Education, Others

Published

13 years ago

March 22, 2013

Excited with the huge developmental strides of the Governor Chibuike Amaechi-led administration in three European countries, Finland, Austria and Norway have expressed their desire to partner the state in education , energy and commerce.

Ambassadors of the three European countries to Nigeria made this known when they paid a courtesy visit to Governor Chibuike Amaechi last Tuesday in Government, Port Harcourt.

They expressed their desire to commence cooperation in the three sectors, which they believe, would boost multinational relations between Nigeria and their respective countries.

Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Riita Korpivaara remarked that education held huge potentials through which her country could provide support, “ we plan to visit the University of Port Harcourt to discuss education development in Rivers State and how our countries could partner with the state in the field of education, which is an area that is dear to me and to my country, Finnish”, she said.

On trade and commence, Mrs Korpivaara said more areas had to be exploited considering the fact that some of her country’s companies had established in Rivers State. “We are interested, especially in offshore business, energy and education which I already mentioned and I’am very glad that we have this opportunity now to come and see with our own eyes’, she said.

The Finnish envoy also indicated that the delegation while in the state would meet with Shell and visit the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, non-governmental organisations to discuss environmental protection matters.

On his part, Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Rolf Ree lauded Amaechi’s administration for utilising state resources to develop education, adding that as the centre of oil industry in Nigeria, he was impressed, ‘to see how Port Harcourt is developing and using the resources of the oil industry to expand”.

Besides that, he noted that his country had benefited hugely from oil exploration in the country hence it would like to meet with representatives of environmental rights groups to explore areas of understanding.

In the same vein, Austrian Ambassador, Mr Joachim Oppinger expressed his country’s willingness to commence bilateral relations with Rivers State to develop the education sector.

Said Oppinger, “I see there is great investment in education going on, we just spoke about that in Rivers State and I think at the end of the day even a country which has such potentials in raw material, the real raw material in any country is the brain and I see that there is a stronger investment in the brain here”.

In his response, Governor Amaechi thanked the ambassadors for their visit, and assured that the Rivers State Government would partner with them in the area of education.

The governor observed that security has greatly improved which is responsible for the relocation of many oil companies headquarters back to the state, while blaming insecurity to poverty.

Amaechi said the state government is working hard in creating a social environment that caters for the wellbeing of everybody, and that agriculture provides a ready tool to check the menace of unemployment.

He used the visit to make appeal for more opportunities for Rivers State indigenes sent on scholarship in European countries.

‘I have already briefed you that we send about 300 children every year to United Kingdom and Canada and that we have tried to exploit the free opportunity in Germany, that we were able to send only 15, then we tried to exploit the one in Brazil when the Ambassador spoke to us, out of the 50 chances, they gave us, we were able to send only six.

Business

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

Published

17 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

17 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

6 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.