The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Kashim Shettima calls on citizens to join forces in development of the nation irrespective of political party affiliation.
The Vice President made this call during the commissioning of the Enugu Fashion and Garment Hub and unveiling of the 5th Expanded National Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME) Clinics on Tuesday; both are collaborative efforts of the Federal Government and Enugu to boost MSMEs in the state.
“Let us put politics aside. We are now in the phase of development. Politics is over. We have to coalesce into a single force and face the challenges of underdevelopment in our Nation,” VP Shettima charged.
Commending the garment and fashion hub as a stepping stone that will boost production capacity and create jobs, the Vice President also promised a hundred and fifty thousand naira (N150,000) to all exhibitors who distinguish themselves at the MSME clinics.
The Vice President also visited the International Conference Centre and the Command and Control security infrastructure and expressed satisfaction with the projects.
“Most of the things I saw are avant-garde technology, state-of-the-art security infrastructure, and beautiful road network. He is doing excellently well and he is worthy to be emulated by other governors across the length and breadth of this nation.
“He is one of the few CEOs, who are versatile in the potentiality of the Information Technology industry. I want to join all of us here in thanking Governor Peter Mbah for taking charge of the opportunities that abound.”
“Your Excellency, we want to commend and identify with you. We have to sustain that brotherhood and relationship for the good of our people, both in development, infrastructure, we can change the narrative from negativity to positivity,” Shettima said.
In his speech, the Enugu State Governor appreciated the Federal Government for supporting the state in realization of the economic development plans and described MSMEs as the lifeblood of economic growth.
“Like the Federal Government, we recognize that the push to substantially grow the economy is closely tied to the viability of MSMEs.”
“But as important as MSMEs may be, their success is no chance occurrence. They thrive only through careful policies that enhance the ease-of-doing-business climate, comprising key enablers like the sustained provision of infrastructure, security, efficient legal and regulatory framework, among others,” Governor Mbah reiterates.
Other dignitaries at the function also commended the collaborative efforts of both Federal Government and the state to realization of the MSMEs clinic even as they charged the youths to utilize the opportunity.
The Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu and Uche Nnaji Minister of Innovation, Science & Technology were part of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s entourage.
The Enugu State Fashion and Garment Hub is a facility developed by the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria in partnership with the Enugu government through the Enugu SME Centre.
The hub is a state-of-the-art facility that serves as a co-working space for fashion entrepreneurs, small and large-scale apparel manufacturers and trainee designers.
While the 5th Expanded National MSME Clinics offer on-the-spot solutions for business challenges such as regulatory approvals, access to grants, and low-interest loans.
