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Made in Nigeria Project group lauds Osinbajo’s commitment to MSMEs growth
The `Made in Nigeria Project’ group has commended Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on his commitment and support for the growth of small businesses in the country.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the vice president received members of the group led by Mr Adedeji Alebiosu, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The group, representing a coalition of MSMEs in Nigeria, was at the Presidential Villa to commend the Federal Government and appreciate the vice president’s support for MSMEs in the country over the past seven years.
Alebiosu acknowledged the contributions of the vice president through key interventions supervised under his office.
He said that the interventions had positively impacted small businesses in the space.
“Initiatives supervised by your office such as the Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Clinics, the Survival Fund, and the MSMEs Awards, among others, have positively impacted many small businesses over the years.
“You have done so much in the MSMEs space in the country, we have never had it so good, that is why we are here today to show gratitude for the support the Federal Government has given to MSMEs in Nigeria,” he said.
Alebiosu said the visit to the vice president underscored the importance of collaboration and partnership in growing the MSMEs space in the country.
Osinbajo, in his response, said that the momentum built on the MSMEs sector by the Federal Government in the last seven years must be maintained given its crucial position in the economy.
“We must be as determined as possible going forward in maintaining the momentum built over the years in the MSMEs space.
“How we sustain the MSMEs Clinics, how it is institutionalised in a way that the incoming vice presidents or presidents are obliged to pay close attention to whatever is happening in the sector is very important.”
Osinbajo assured stakeholders that the Federal Government would create an enabling environment for the incoming administration to step into the positions already created in the MSMEs space.
On the ‘Made in Nigeria’ concept and the need to develop local capacity, the vice president said it was worthwhile.
“We must find where we fit in, in that value chain.
“It is true that no economy can be entirely self-sustaining but it is important to emphasise that we have the capacity to do a lot in our country.
“What we need to do is to find our comparative advantage and develop capacity in the value chain around the manufacturing of electric vehicles, arms manufacturing.”
According to him, there is a bigger challenge in manufacturing of items, creating jobs and wealth; hence the need to think in terms of scale.
“There is a lot of real and serious work that needs to be done. What should our approach be in terms of the value chain? We are a huge economy and a huge market.
“The problem people have always faced is how to engage our massive population in a meaningful way because anything you do seems like a drop in an ocean due to the enormity of the problem,” he said.
The group presented an Award of Excellence to the Vice President.
Members of the delegation that visited Osinbajo included the Director of Operations, Tosin Ashiru, Director of Special Projects, Samuel Adewale, Director of SMEs Engagement, Tola Ajayi and Director of Partnerships, Destiny Enakhimion.
The House of Representatives, has reassured that the long queues at filling stations in the country, will soon fizzle out soon.
Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere, Chairman, Petroleum Downstream said this at a joint news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
“We hereby express our concerns over the temporary presence of fuel queues in petrol stations across the country.
“However, we are convinced that this is temporary based on our investigation, and in a couple of days, we shall get over it,” he said.
Flanked by Rep. Henry Okojie, the Chairman, Petroleum Midstream, Ugochinyere said that investigations had revealed that the scarcity was artificial.
“We have discovered that there is availability of petrol products. We have it on good authority that we have in our storage facilities at least, about 1.5 billion liters of petrol,” he said.
He said that 1.5 billion liters can last for 30 days.
“We have gotten assurances from the regulators in the distribution value chain that these bottlenecks have been cleared. In the course of this public holiday, more grounds will be covered.
“From our findings, the issues that necessitated the disruptions that led to the appearance of fuel queues in petrol stations have been cleared.
They said that it would take a few more days for things to return to normalcy, while calling on Nigerians not to panic over this development.
“We have gotten assurances from the regulators and the unions that these challenges will be cleared in a few days,” he said.
Ugochinyere added: “It will require more time, like two to three days, for products to be distributed to all stations nationwide.
“As a committee that is charged with downstream and midstream oversight, we have been monitoring this development.”
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Borno State chapter, has said that some retirees in the state were still being paid N4,000 monthly as pension.
The NLC Chairman, Mr Yusuf Inuwa, said this in an address to mark the 2024 May Day celebration, on Wednesday in Maiduguri.
He advocated for upward review of the pension to improve the social and economic wellbeing of retirees.
“Your Excellency, we wish to table before you that as at this moment there are some pensioners who are still receiving N4,000 as pension per month which is grossly inadequate.
“We, therefore, pray for His Excellency intervention for upward review of the monthly pension”, Inuwa pleaded.
He also called for the implementation of the national minimum wage, payment of outstanding leave and transport grants to local government employees in the state.
The NLC chairman, who noted the commitment of the workers towards the transformation agenda of the state government, lauded the Babagana Zulum’s administration for the feat achieved in the area of workers’ welfare.
He listed some of the achievements to include implementation of promotion benefits to workers in the mainstream, payment of gratuities to families of deceased workers, and provision of subsidised buses for workers and members of the public.
Also, the State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Babayo Hamma, urged the state government to adopt the minimum wage aporoved by the Federal Government.
The state deputy governor, Alhaji Umar Kadafur, lauded the harmonious relationship between labour and the state government.
Kadafur who listed some of the training opportunities provided for the workers including the N2 billion free interest facility, reiterated government to the welfare and training of workers.
Also, Prof. Ibrahim Umara of Political Science Department, University of Maiduguri, who highlighted the theme of this year’s May Day, “The People First”, called for proactive active measures to address energy crisis in the country.
He urged government to adopt siund policies that would enabled the Dangote Refinery, to supply fuel at a subsidised rate to service local consumption.
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