Enugu-based Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs Promotion and Training Association (SEPTA) says that Nigeria would attain its Vision 20:2020 much faster if trade groups are encouraged to run common facilities installed in co-operation with the government.

The association, which recently held a two-day workshop in Enugu, believes that if certain trade groups such as fabricators of motor car body spare parts, furniture makers and others that require heavy machinery to produce world-standard goods are encouraged to congregate in an area where they are provided with machines under loan agreements which a single individual would have found impossible to undertake the country would quickly close the technological gap.

“Goods currently imported at high costs would be produced locally and Nigerians would no longer discriminate against such locally produced products if they compare with imported ones in quality and price”, the group said.

Mr Chris Amadi president of Septa, who jointly signed the workshop’s 9-point communiqué with Dr Emmanuel Ome of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said that considering the importance of industrialisation in any developing economy, recommended that the coal camp industrial area, Ogbete in Enugu which is a thriving spare parts depot in Enugu be relocated to another area in Enugu West and set up in their various trade groups.

“If this is done, it would be easier to monitor them and supervise the common facilities from which all of them would be trapping services,” he said.

The association deplored the run down nature of federal roads in the entire South East or Nigeria saying it was a disincentive to investment in the area and called on the zone’s representatives in the National Assembly to put pressure on the Federal Government to rectify the situation.

Members of the association, who used the opportunity of the workshop to review the impact of the state government’s 4-point agenda on the economic development of Enugu State, also called on the Enugu State police commissioner to help enforce laws made by the Enugu State House of Assembly.

It questioned police selective enforcement of the commercial motorcyclists  laws which  prohibits commercial cyclists from plying certain routes in the Enugu metropolis and from operating at all between the hours of seven pm and 6 am.

“Motorcyclist in police and army uniform ply all roads in the city all hours of the day and night and nothing happens”,  Amadi, said, wondering why they are allowed to do that while civilians whose livelihood depend on it are arrested whenever they follow the police example.