Local industry to grow Nigeria out of recession -Osinbajo
Encouraging local industries to grow is a sure way to lead Nigeria out of recession, says the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
Osinbajo who spoke at the closing ceremony of the Plateau state Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) fair, which held in Jos on Thursday.
He said that the federal government is committed to boost local products, encourage manufacturers and provide them the conducive environment to flourish.
He said that government will patronize only Made-in-Nigeria goods with the aim of giving local manufacturers opportunity to grow the industry.
“We have started producing military boots in Nigeria and anytime we want to procure boots for the Nigeria Army, we will first patronize the Made-in-Nigeria boots.
On his part, the Plateau state governor, Simon Lalong, said that his government has keyed into the objectives of the MSME clinic which is to bring all relevant stakeholders and business operators together, to discuss issues affecting the setup and operations of MSMEs in Nigeria, adding that government and other stakeholders will share and provide information on all policies and programmes that have been initiated in the country to encourage activities of MSMEs.
His words: “Let me commend Mr. Vice President for initiating the SMEs Clinic which has already been held in 4 states of the federation and has provided a platform for SMEs to be empowered with necessary tools for growth.
“Recognizing that MSMEs provide almost 80 percent of the workforce of Nigeria, we have to use the instrumentality of MSME template to train over 3,000 women and youths on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, skills acquisition in Plateau state.”
Out of the total participants, 48 are people living with disabilities.
The governor said that the state government is almost at a point of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry (BOI) on matching fund of N2billion facility to enable the trained people have access to funds at a subsidized rate for the establishment of their businesses,” he said.
