FG to hold quarterly meetings with small business owners – Shettima
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has directed the expansion of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) stakeholders’ forum and the introduction of quarterly meetings to give business owners greater input into government policies.
Shettima said small business owners must have a direct voice in decisions affecting the business environment, stressing the need for stronger collaboration between the government and private sector.
The Vice-President gave the directive on Friday during an MSME stakeholders’ meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He instructed the Special Adviser to the President on MSMEs and Job Creation, Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, to expand the membership of the forum and ensure that it meets every three months.
“I therefore direct him to expand this forum’s membership and convene this meeting once every quarter. Business owners must have a more decisive voice in our deliberations, and each meeting must account for the decisions taken at the previous one,” he said.
Shettima described small businesses as critical to household incomes, employment and the country’s economic growth, noting that their survival has implications beyond individual business owners.
“The smallest shop on a Nigerian street may carry the weight of an entire household,” he said, explaining that such businesses support school fees, healthcare needs and opportunities for apprentices.
He assured business owners of the Federal Government’s continued commitment to strengthening the MSME sector, adding that President Bola Tinubu had placed access to business financing at the centre of his economic agenda.
