This assurance was given yesterday by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, during a visit to Aba, Abia State, where he participated in the First MSMES Clinics after the media launch in Abuja on Tuesday.
Using as an analogy, a story President Muhammadu Buhari once told him about the importance of taking care of people “who do the things that make us comfortable, Osinbajo observed;
"It is important to pay attention to MSMES. We will spend time to ensure that we give those who produce locally all the support that we can give, and that is why we are doing this clinics.”
The Office of the Special Adviser on Economic Matters in the Presidency devised the idea of a Clinic to bridge the gap between medium and small scale businesses and government agencies such as Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC; Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON; National Agency for Food & Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC; Bank of Industry, BOI; Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS; Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC; and others.
The Clinic is meant to bring together all those agencies in one spot and at appointed times across the country to attend to the needs, questions and requests of people doing business. It was launched on Tuesday by Prof. Osinbajo and the first Clinic outside Abuja was today in Aba.
Subsequently, such clinics would be held in two different cities every month and those government agencies would be on hand to solve problems of business enterprises, take enquiries, explain government initiatives and educate the public about regulatory issues regarding MSMES in Nigeria.
Having launched in Abuja, the Vice President decided to personally attend the Clinic in Aba, today noting that “you can’t do much for manufacturing without coming to Aba,” and adding that Aba traders, artisans, tailors, shoemakers and others “are the bedrock of our economy.”
He urged those relevant FG agencies to see themselves as facilitators of the businesses and remove bottlenecks that are often reported when enterprises have something to do with the agencies.
The Vice President went round the stands of all the agencies at the Aba MSMES Clinic and also those of several businesses and local manufacturers, all of whom were obviously elated at the Federal Government’s gesture to re-orient the relationship between them and the agencies.
Commenting at the Clinic, the Abia State Governor, Dr. Okpezie Ikpeazu, who accompanied the Vice President said “with the visit of the Acting President to Abia today, the story of Aba traders will change. The visit of the Acting President is a testimony that something new is happening here.”
Prof. Osinbajo who has since returned to Abuja, was also accompanied by the Industry, Trade and Investment Minister, Dr. Okey Enelamah, among several other senior government officials.
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity
to the President (Office of the Vice President)
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