Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has called for increased collaboration between the government and economic stakeholders, asserting that small business owners must have a meaningful voice in the government’s policy and decision-making processes.
Accordingly, he directed the Special Adviser to the President on MSMEs and Job Creation, Mr Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, to expand membership of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Stakeholders’ Meeting, and ensure that the forum convenes the meeting quarterly.
Speaking on Friday during the MSMEs stakeholders’ meeting at the Presidential Villa, Shettima noted the interconnected nature of governance and enterprise, just as he demanded a seat at the table for the private sector, declaring that small business owners must also have a direct voice in shaping government policy.
Commending Adekunle-Johnson for the pace and persistence he has brought to the MSME assignment, he said, “I therefore direct him to expand this forum’s membership and convene this meeting once every quarter. Business owners must have a more decisive voice in our deliberations, and each meeting must account for the decisions taken at the previous one.”
The Vice President stressed the importance of MSMEs in the country, noting that “the smallest shop on a Nigerian street may carry the weight of an entire household.
“Behind its counter are school fees, a parent’s medicine and an apprentice’s first chance at independence. Whenever that shop closes, the loss travels far beyond its owner. Whenever it grows, a little more of our country stands on its own feet,” he added.
Shettima described the stakeholders’ meeting as a human mathematics to acknowledge the significance of what small business owners do for the nation, reassuring them of the government’s enduring commitment to making MSMEs a national priority.
He thanked them for their cooperation which, according to him, has strengthened MSMEs, pointing out that government agencies, financial institutions, state governments and private sector partners have helped in turning “public commitments into assistance that people can use.
“We do this because millions of Nigerians earn their living from businesses that survive, and those businesses survive more readily when institutions perform their duties,” he explained.
The Vice President stated that President Bola Tinubu placed business financing at the centre of his economic agenda because he understood that ambition without access to capital could become a lifetime of postponed possibilities.
“The woman who can fulfil a larger order and the artisan who can afford better equipment are helping to build the economy we seek. We know that the cost of staying in business has tested even the most resourceful Nigerians. Their perseverance places an obligation upon us,” he maintained.
He outlined Tinubu’s interventions in MSMEs to include the approval of ₦200 billion in business support, comprising ₦50 billion in grants, ₦75 billion in loans for MSMEs and ₦75 billion for manufacturing, with eligible manufacturers able to access up to ₦1 billion through the Bank of Industry.
The interventions, he noted, gave enterprises the means to withstand pressure and pursue expansion.
The Vice President recalled that under the Tinubu administration, the MSMEs team has travelled from one state to another, “carrying the weight of our promises and demonstrating, through action, our determination to honour every commitment made to the Nigerian people.”
Earlier, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan-Enoh, described MSMEs as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, stressing the need for sustained government support to strengthen their contributions to national development.
“These are people who run businesses that we see every day. It goes beyond MSMEs being the engine room of the economy; they are the Nigerian economy,” he said.
Source: Business Archives – New Telegraph
