The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s promises to business owners were not mere rhetorics.
The Vice President gave the assurance on Tuesday at the commissioning of the Ultra-Modern MSME Clinics Fashion & ICT Hubs in Makurdi, Benue State.
He said such hub in Benue was the beginning of greater things to come under the Tinubu’s administration, assuring that it would match global standards, with the potential to create roughly 48,000 jobs annually in the state.
Represented by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Ibrahim Hadejia, noted that the speed at which the hub was built after the MSMEs Clinic was launched in the state earlier this year was a clear indication that promises made by the Tinubu administration to entrepreneurs were not mere rhetoric.
According to a press release by a Presidential spokesman in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said “Today, as we commission this dual-purpose MSME Clinic, we bear witness to two critical truths. First, it proves that our promises to entrepreneurs are not mere rhetoric.
“Secondly, it affirms that the most durable interventions we can achieve as a government are born from strong intergovernmental partnerships.
“We are delighted to witness the fruition of these projects, and I am honoured to be part of this milestone.”
He explained that the Benue Fashion & ICT Hub and other hubs as well as shared facilities established across Nigeria were the federal government’s intervention targeted at fostering a conducive business and regulatory environment for MSMEs in the country to thrive and prosper.
The Benue MSME Hub, according to him, was one of the largest ever commissioned by the Federal Government.
He said, “With over 200 pieces of cutting-edge equipment to support fashion manufacturing and more than 100 ICT devices in the cluster, this hub has the capacity to ramp up production, provide ICT training, and achieve economies of scale.
“It is equipped to produce a wide range of fashion items, including military uniforms, school uniforms, and corporate wear, both for Benue State and beyond.
“Beyond providing this cluster, the hub will also house a one-stop shop where MSMEs can engage directly with Federal Government agencies to resolve their regulatory issues”.
The one-stop shop, he further explained, would ensure that businesses requiring support or services from agencies such as NAFDAC, BOA, CAC, ITF, SON, NEPC, SMEDAN, and others could be attended to under one roof.
The Vice President expressed the federal government’s readiness to partner with state governments and its resolve to continue to create opportunities that meet the country’s demands, saying interventions such as the MSMEs Clinic fashion and ICT hubs represent.
Noting that MSMEs were the lifeline of communities across the nation, he said they were the bedrock of stability at a critical phase of the nation’s economic transition in times like this, even as he said it would be “impossible to grow the Nigerian economy if the growth and success of MSMEs do not remain a top priority”.
He acknowledged the numerous challenges preventing the growth and prosperity of MSMEs in Nigeria, pointing out that the Tinubu administration was already providing interventions to address them.
He however said, “With a strong resolve to tackle these challenges, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has provided interventions like the Benue Fashion Hub and other hubs established across the nation.
“These hubs support MSME clusters across various industries, including fashion and textiles, leather, ICT, agriculture, and cold room facilities. We look forward to establishing additional clusters for mechanic cities, printing, barber shops, shoemaking, and wellness later this year,” he said.
Shettima commended what he described as the visionary leadership of Benue.