By Roland Ike
The National President and Chairman of the Council of the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, NASME, Dr Abdulrashid Yerima has urged the Ebonyi State government to harness the solid mineral resources in the state for the people’s benefit.
Yerima made the call in Abakaliki during the inauguration of the new Ebonyi executive members of the chapter, noting that the state needed to harness its abundant solid mineral resources.
The national president remarked that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Ebonyi State must be increased to compete and surpass those of richest states in Nigeria.
“NASME is ready to partner with the Nwifuru – led administration to achieve set goals in the mineral resources sector and beyond.
“We commend the governor for his significant contributions to the growth and enhancement of small business owners.
“He provided an enabling environment for these successes by assenting to the bill which established the Ebonyi State SME Law and outlined empowerment programs to encourage young entrepreneurs.”
Yerima recalled that in 1995, major stakeholders in the Nigeria economy identified the significant roles Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, play in the sustainable development of the country’s economy.
“This necessitated the registration of the NASME as a Business Membership Organisation (BMO) on 26th March 1996 and was also presented with a certificate by the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.”
He disclosed that the association’s mission remains to promote the empowerment of Nigeria MSMEs as a means of achieving sustainable employment generation, and economic growth in the country.
“Our vision is to be the voice of Nigeria’s entrepreneurs advocating a conducive business environment.
“We aim to partner MSME promoters to ensure the emergence of large pool of viable and technologically empowered MSMEs.”
Yerima affirmed that having a functional NASME chapter in Ebonyi would be of enormous benefit, as the entrepreneurs would always partake in the mentorship programs of the association both nationally and internationally.
“This would also enable us market the state to investors globally as we urge the governor to always give Ebonyi NASME members his listening ears.
“We are optimistic that the cream of the newly inaugurated executives of the association in the state would bring their experiences and innovative entrepreneurial leadership skills to bear in running the organisation.
“We also urged the state government to adopt mechanized farming instead of using outdated agricultural tools and intensive manual labour, to boost food production in the state.”
The New Chairman of NASME in the state, Comrade Joseph Erishi also commended Governor Nwifuru for assenting to the bill that established Ebonyi State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, EBSMEDA within his 30 days in office.
“The step is an indication that the governor has interest to creating an enabling environment for private sector to thrive and flourish.
“I thank the NASME President, Yerima for his doggedness in promoting the country’s economy as Ebonyi is a destination haven for investors in the south east zone and Nigerian as a whole.
“Ebonyi is blessed with abundant solid mineral resources which if explored and developed, would bring outstanding economic growth with increased the internally generated revenue.
“The solid mineral resources in the state include limestone, lead, zinc, granite, dolomite, pyroclastic, sand, laterite, lignite/coal, and kaolin, among others, which are all in commercial quantities.”
Governor Francis Nwifuru was represented by the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Oguzor Ofia–Nwali who said the administration had been encouraging small business owners and assured the new executives of support.
“You should remain united and contribute to the development of the state.”
The Patron of the Ebonyi NASME and State Commissioner for Finance, Leonard Uguru advised the new executives to run an all-inclusive government and assured them of due support.
The event was massively attended by guests, NASME national, zonal, and state working committee members, representatives of the Bank of Agriculture, Industrial Training Fund, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, and Export Promotion Council, among others.
