The Federal Government has generated over 300,000 businesses through various Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) interventions, aiming to create over one million job opportunities, primarily for youth and women, within a year.
This was disclosed by Vice President Kashim Shettima during a one-day working visit to Jigawa State.
Vice President Shettima explained, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has initiated multiple interventions for SMEs, which have generated over 300,000 businesses and will provide over one million jobs within a year.”
He emphasised that the Renewal Hope Agenda of President Tinubu is designed to tackle poverty and create job opportunities by encouraging and supporting medium and small-scale businesses, which constitute over 65 per cent of investment and employ 83 per cent of labour in Nigeria.
He further stated that the current administration is working tirelessly to formulate and implement policies and programmes that will improve the social and economic lives of Nigerians.
Addressing the youth, Shettima urged them to ignore calls for the proposed nationwide protest, describing those calling for it as selfish and unpatriotic.
He said, “The protest will not yield any positive development; instead, it will lead to violence and destruction of public properties.”
Vice President Shettima commended Governor Malam Umar Namadi for his efforts in creating jobs and sustainable livelihoods, as well as for initiating and executing projects that uplift the lives of Jigawa citizens.
Governor Namadi, in his remarks, praised the Federal Government for its laudable initiatives, policies, and programmes, which are gradually changing the social and economic directions of the country.
He highlighted the Expanded National MSME Clinics, designed for the development of micro, small, & medium-scale enterprises, as commendable efforts aimed at creating the necessary environment for inclusive and sustainable growth of the Nigerian economy, ultimately lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
“We are delighted to align our 12-Point Agenda for Greater Jigawa with the Federal Government’s Renewal Hope initiative,” emphasised Governor Malam Umar Namadi.
“These projects will not only support the attainment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic growth and development but also further our state’s development objectives of improved socioeconomic well-being for all, as encapsulated in our 12-Point Agenda.”
He noted that all the programmes commissioned by the Vice President have significant potential to contribute to the nation’s goals of economic diversification, food security, employment generation, and job creation.
During his visit, Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima launched several key initiatives, including the training of 1,000 youth in artificial intelligence (AI), the development of 20,000 hectares of sprinkler-based solar-powered irrigation, and the establishment of a small and medium-scale enterprise clinic in Jigawa State to boost job creation and poverty eradication.
Additionally, the Vice President commissioned a 100 KVA solar-energy power supply system to provide stable power to small-scale enterprises at Dutse Market, distributed motorcycles to 1,450 agricultural extension workers, and handed out agricultural inputs to rural farmers.
The Vice President was accompanied by the governors of Kebbi and Kaduna States and the deputy governors of Katsina and Sokoto States, among others.
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