MSME Clinic In Jos, Plateau State

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE MSME CLINIC IN JOS, PLATEAU STATE ON THE 5TH OF MAY, 2017

Protocols

Good afternoon everyone, it is my special pleasure to be here in Jos for the MSME Clinic.

We’re trying to look for ways of ensuring that anyone who is doing business in Nigeria, can do so without any pains, without any trouble at all.

It’s a slow process in some cases and for instance, people who want to register property, it might be difficult in some states. I’m told that here, it is just 14 days if you want to get a Certificate of Occupany.

That is excellent but we want to be able to do that everywhere, especially in the States where there is a lot of registration. We want to be able to bring down the time that it takes to register, get approvals, and build, we want to reduce that time so that anybody who is doing business can do so easily and without any problems at all.

Part of that ease of doing business is what we are doing here today, the MSME Clinic. The whole idea of a clinic is that it is almost like a hospital, but in this case, a mobile hospital. We’re bringing the doctors here to meet with the small-scale manufacturers.

We are bringing NAFDAC,  SON, Bank of Industry, all of those regulators and agencies that are supposed to make business easy, they grant approvals and all.

What we have been trying to do is take them to various places where we know that industry is active, where we know that small businesses are and this is one of such places, this state is one of such places.

The Plateau Governor, Simon Lalong, described this state as the Industrial Hub of Nigeria. I think that by just looking, I can see that as far as the agro-allied industry is concerned, it will be difficult to compete with Plateau State.

We have been speaking to agencies of government and we think that all of us are on the same page now, that any agency meant to grant, is supposed to make life easier for the business person. We are not supposed to be an obstacle, we are supposed to make life easier and that’s the reason why they are here.

The whole point is that life must be easier for anybody who wants to do business, those who are doing business, we (the government) are the ones who owe them a favour. We’re the ones who must do what is right to make their business easier because they provide the job, they also pay the taxes, they are the ones who support the economy, they are the ones who support our livelihood and existence. For that reason, we must make it easy for them to do business or any entrepreneur.

Our business is to make your own business easier and that’s why I am going as Chair of the Ease of Doing Business Council, from State to State, from zone to zone, making sure that we are making our presence felt,  that is the Federal Government agencies responsible for approvals, and the people can ask questions about what they need to know and what other things we have for them to make it easier for them to do their business.

This is why we’re here and I’m extremely excited by everything I’ve seen here, I’ve seen so much, including agro-allied, have seen young man who is making a tractor, and those who are making various agricultural equipment.  I’ve seen those who are making clothes, those who are making books and all that.

The policy of the government is to encourage those who are manufacturing locally and we will support your enterprises in every way that we can.

Thank you very much for listening.