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Obiano receives Presidential Award on MSME, Assures of Greater Support to MSME

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The governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano has assured that his administration would continue to lend more support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the state.

Speaking at the state Executive Council meeting in Awka on Monday while receiving the plaque awarded to Anambra State for emerging as the best state that supports MSME by the Presidency at the weekend, governor Obiano said that the award would spur him to do more in the support of MSMEs in the state.

According to him, his administration had perfected arrangements to access the N3.5bn MSME facility from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that would be ploughed into the funding of MSMEs in the state.

Governor Obiano explained that Anambra had over 2000 cooperatives covering agriculture, manufacturing, trade and commerce and services, declaring “it is my intention to support them more. We are getting about N3.5bn from the Central Bank, probably in the next few weeks that we are also going to use to support the people in this area; particularly for the growth of Efi Igbo, Ewu Igbo, Okuko and other farmers that are pioneering things in this area. It will go a long way in assisting the attainment of food sufficiency that we talked about.”

Anambra had edged out Lagos, Abia and Kaduna states to emerge as the Best State in Support of MSMEs in Nigeria.

Anambra’s impressive achievements in MSME came from Obiano’s foresight in establishing an agency known as the Anambra Small Business Agency (ASBA) which has been directly involved in the financing of the entrepreneurial dreams of so many businessmen and women in the state.

Since its inception in 2015, ASBA has provided over N2.5 Billion in single digit funds to Microenterprises and SMEs in the State, funding over 10,000 businesses and creating over 70,000 direct and indirect jobs in the process, empowering youths to become burgeoning entrepreneurs as well as sustaining established SMEs in the State.

Available facts indicate that in the period under review, Anambra State Government had disbursed the sum of N1.2bn to MSMEs in the state through ASBA.

Industrialization and manufacturing took the lion’s share of the disbursements with 49.69% while Agricultural value chain came second with 20.89%. Trade and Commerce took 11.42% while Oil and gas came next with 7.75%.

The records further show that the Agency also innovatively financed the US$2.2 Million (about N800 Million) Shoe & Leather Products Industrial Cluster in Nkwelle Ezunaka via its “Enabling Local Cluster Development Scheme”.

These shoe makers had through this intervention, collectively reaped huge financial benefits, creating trading linkages with buyers across sub-Saharan Africa and significantly limiting the influence of middle men. The shoe makers also generated impressive revenues as at year end 2018 for the state.

Riding on the back of the success of the shoe making cluster, ASBA has commenced the construction of a similar industrial cluster for Textile and Garments artisans which should be completed by December 2019.

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Nigerians Seek Woman Who Spoke Out Eloquently Against Fuel Scarcity In Viral 1994 TV Clip

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April 30th 1994, 30 Years Ago, And Till Today Nothing Has Really Changed.

Netizens have gone in search of a beautiful and well-spoken woman who spoke out against fuel scarcity 30 Years Ago.

A user on X.com, Jackie, who identifies as #JWEZEE had shared the video yesterday with the caption, “On this day April 30 1994, same day same time, only difference 30years ago.

“Nigerians in long fuel queues lamenting, 30years later they are still lamenting. And In another 30years will still lament, why? Because patterns don’t lie.”

In the video, which has since gone viral, Nigerians were seen queuing to purchase fuel and lamenting their predicament as citizens waiting in long queues with their gallons to buy fuel.

The woman passionately addressed the unfairness of soldiers skipping queues to resell fuel, highlighting a longstanding problem.

She said in part, “You have the soldiers that come, they buy petrol, they put it in jerry cans they sell it right in front of these people, it’s ridiculous.

“They get the fuel themselves, why do they have to come here, they don’t join the queue, they just buy and they sell right in front of people, it’s ridiculous. Something has to happen.”

The 30-year-old video which recently surfaced coincides with the current fuel price hike across the country.

Here is the viral video from 30 years back.

Currently, the country is facing fuel scarcity and price hike, with fuel being sold at N900 per litre in some states. This has affected the price of goods in the nation.

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FG Declares May 1st Public Holiday To Mark Workers’ Day

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The Federal Government had declared Wednesday, May 1st, 2024, as a public holiday to mark this year’s Workers’ Day.

Nigeria’s Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo made the declaration, according to the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Aishetu Ndayako.

“The Federal Government has declared Wednesday, 1st May 2024 as a Public Holiday to commemorate this year’s Workers’ Day Celebration,” Aishetu said in a statement on Tuesday, April 30.

“In alignment with this year’s theme, which focuses on ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate, I wish to state that the Federal Government remains steadfast in its resolve to prioritise the safety and well-being of all citizens,” the minister said.

“Let me reaffirm Mr. President’s commitment to providing a conducive environment for work, where every worker can thrive and contribute meaningfully to national development”.

The minister, who acknowledged the contribution of workers, called for more measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change through synergy.

“The Minister also urged Nigerians to remain committed to the present administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda as he wishes workers a happy celebration,” the statement read.

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“There Would Be total Blackout For Three Months If Electricity Tariff Hike Is Not Implemented ” – Minister Of Power Warns

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The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has warned that there would be a total blackout in the country in the next three months if the proposed electricity tariff hike is not implemented.

The minister gave the warning in Abuja when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Power at an investigative hearing over the recent electricity tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)on Monday, April 29.

In his words

“The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs. The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians, we are also feeling the impact.”

He said the sum of $10 billion is needed yearly for the next ten years to revive the nation’s power sector and nip in the bud the challenges bedevilling it.

“For this sector to be revived, the government needs to spend nothing less than 10 billion dollars annually in the next 10 years.

“This is because of the infrastructure requirement for the stability of the sector. But the government cannot afford that. And so we must make this sector attractive to investors and to lenders. So, for us to attract investors and investment, we must make the sector attractive, and the only way it can be made attractive is that there must be commercial pricing.

“If the value is still at N66 and the government is not paying subsidy, the investors will not come. But now that we have increased the tariff for A Band, there are interests being shown by investors,” he said.

Adelabu said the inability of the government to pay outstanding N2.9 trillion subsidy was due to limited resources, hence the need to evolve measures to sustain the sector.

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