The federal government of Nigeria has said it is committed to giving support to smaller companies to create jobs and boost the nation’s economic growth.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said this Tuesday in Abuja when he declared open a two-day Inaugural Partnership Economy Summit, organised by the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, Chief Niyi Adebayo, the vice-president said the summit was a bold initiative designed to strengthen government and citizen collaboration under the banner of Partnership Economy Nigeria (PEN).
PEN, according to him, is a socio-economic platform made up of a variety of key stakeholders including the three tiers of government, the private sector and organised civil society.
He explained that Nigeria’s young entrepreneurs and small business owners were the future of the country, adding that the federal government is committed to supporting them in their different businesses.
“Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, and this platform will support their sustainable growth.
“PEN is a timely and well-needed intervention, strategic partnership between the three tiers of government, the private sector and civil society and is critical to post-Covid-19 recovery and building a strong resilient economy.
“The federal government is committed to providing practical support to smaller companies at this critical time,” he said.
Also, the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, said the summit sought to garner the fundamentals of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 8, 9 and 17.
Akume said it was to build the solid sustainable framework of PEN, being a bold attempt to mobilise multi-stakeholders on a platform that generates synergy to promote wealth creation.
He added that the initiative was also focused on the diversification of the country’s economy and the generation of several million jobs in the economy.
“The platform is also designed to harmonise the efforts of the three tiers of government towards supporting and facilitating the community-based Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (MSME).
”This will enable them to start and grow value-addition businesses across all sectors at the council, ward level, at local government levels in particular, in a bid to build our economy from the bottom to up,” Akume said.
In his remark, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, noted that the time was ripe for Nigeria to look out for ways to grow local businesses to cushion the effects of global harsh economic realities.
Represented by Hon. Agunsoye Rotimi, the speaker said the summit was timely and imperative so as to ensure that Nigerians were not left out of global business development as situations present themselves.
The summit, which drew stakeholders from economic sectors, captains of industries and royal fathers, among others has ‘Translating global goals into local businesses in Nigeria’ as its theme. (NAN)
