Aba Traders Are Bedrock Of Nigeria’s Economy – Osinbajo

Nigeria’s Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has described Aba traders, in Abia state as the bedrock of the nation’s economy.
“You can’t do much for manufacturing without coming to Aba; Aba traders, artisans, tailors, shoemakers and others are the bedrock of our economy.”
Professor Osinbajo was in Aba today, Thursday, where he participated in the First Micro, Small, & Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMES), Clinics. The media launch of the programme took place in Abuja on Tuesday.
Osinbajo asked relevant federal government 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.
He vowed that the Buhari presidency would do all within its ability to ensure that business men and women under the scheme thrive, stressing the importance of taking care of people “who do the things that make us comfortable.
“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 had 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 Professor Osinbajo.
The clinics would be held in two different cities every month and the relevant government agencies would be on hand to solve problems of business enterprises, take inquiries, explain government initiatives and educate the public about regulatory issues regarding MSMES in Nigeria.
At the Aba launch, the Vice President went round the stands of all the agencies at the MSMES Clinic and those of several businesses and local manufacturers.
The Abia State Governor, Dr. Okpezie Ikpeazu, said that with the visit of the Acting President to Abia, the story of Aba traders will change.
Professor Osinbajo was also accompanied by the Industry, Trade and Investment Minister, Dr. Okey Enelamah, among several other senior government officials. [myad]