Business
Entrepreneurs Seek Govt Co-operation On Installed Facilities
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.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.