The Zonal Vice President, South South of Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Dr. Daminabo Oko-Jaja, has expressed worry over the nation’s high Monetary Policy Rate (MPR).
Oko-Jaja in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, recently, said that there is a great need for government to deal with lending interest issues which he says affect manufacturers and other entrepreneurs who find it difficult to raise enough money for their businesses.
The NASME zonal vice president said that the high interest rate was responsible for the setbacks witnessed in the private sector, adding: “the private sector in other countries is the driver of the economy”.
He noted that for the country to be truly out of recession, government is expected to do the needful by listening to the private sector-led organisations and ensure that commercial banks take instructions from the Central Back of Nigeria (CBN0, adding that the issue of power and infrastructure must also be addressed properly.
“Things can be corrected if government wakes from its slumber and ensures that the private sector takes the front seat as the driver of Nigerian economy, while government gives a helping hand”, he said.
According to the don, access to business capital has been a major setback to businessmen and women.
He stressed that financial institutions prefer to lend money to big business names rather than those that are starting adding that the high interest rate also scares some entrepreneurs from taking risks.
