Edo State House of Assembly has given nod to Edo State government request to access the sum of N2 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (MSMEDF).
BusinessDay reports that the approval is sequel to a letter sent to the speaker of the house by the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, requesting for approval to access the fund.
Oshiomhole in the letter said the key condition precedent contained in the CBN’s guidelines for participation in the intervention fund by states required evidence of State House of Assembly’s Resolution authorising it to participate in the fund.
In granting the governor’s request, the speaker of the house, Uyi Igbe, said Edo State participation in the fund will act as a boost to the existing micro, small and medium enterprises in addition to establishing new ones in the state.
Earlier, chairman, House Standing Committee on Rules, Business and Government House, Philip Shaibu, who is also the majority leader of the house, noted that Edo State was one of the states that had not accessed the fund
According to him, for any economy to grow it must be private sector driven and most of these private sector, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are more active in the economic development of any nation. And also having looked at the request at the national perspective we discovered that Edo State was one of the least if not the last that is accessing this fund.
“Other states have already accessed the fund and Edo state is almost losing out of this fund and it becomes very expedient that we have to join comity of states to access this fund from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The fund when accessed it will boost economic development of our state and other related economic activities,” he said.
Shaibu added that the fund will help in creating more employment, attract huge economic development and transformation as well as benefit the people of the immensely.
IDRIS UMAR MOMOH
