Sunday, February 27, 2022 / 10:27 AM / by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo / Header Image Credit: StateHouse

Being remarks delivered by His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the 30^th Edition of The National MSMEs Clinics in Maduguri, Borno State on the 24^th of February, 2022.

It is a special pleasure for me to be here in this historic city of Maiduguri in the great State of Borno. I must also appreciate the warm reception of the people of Maiduguri today and the generous hospitality of my friend and brother His Excellency, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum since we arrived this morning.

I bring you the warm felicitations and personal greetings of our President, President Muhammadu Buhari, whose love and appreciation of the people of Borno State is well known to all.  He has been here twice in the past few months. And on behalf of the President and the Federal Government, we once again salute His Excellency, Governor Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum and his hardworking team for their dedication and commitment to working with the military and the Federal government to restore peace and normalcy to Borno State.

Your bold and courageous actions have been instrumental in restoring confidence to residents and visitors and have enabled business and social activities to resume and flourish in the State.  Borno State has been a famous centre of learning, agriculture and commerce from time immemorial. We must all ensure that we restore it fully to that enviable status.

As is well known, MSME Clinics serve as a bridge between the Federal Government, State Government and small businesses in each State.  It does this by bringing all relevant regulatory agencies whose work impacts the business experience of small businesses together in one place to consult and solve problems over a one to two-day period.  The idea is similar to providing an opportunity for patients to consult doctors in a mobile clinic.

We realise of course that all the needs and queries of MSMEs cannot be met in a one-day period which is why we also encourage State Governments to establish MSMEs One-Stop-Shops.  These are office facilities provided by State Governments to house all our MSME partner agencies so that clients/Small businesses can access their services more readily and cheaply and on a continuous basis.

Shared Facilities for MSMEs are yet another innovation of the MSME Clinics.  These facilities are provided to MSME clusters by the Federal Government, and FG pays for the cost of such facilities and involves the installation of specialised machinery that can be used or rented for short periods by business owners.  Such facilities help to relieve the financial burden of having to purchase their own equipment while giving them access to the latest equipment.  For example, you have in Nnewi, Anambra State, a facility for shoemakers and in Edo State, another shared facility for furniture makers.

The whole idea is for small businesses to be able to go to a place where we have high-quality and expensive equipment that individual businesses couldn't have been able to afford on their own. They go to the facilities and use it on a rental basis and do whatever businesses they want to do there.

It is therefore a matter of great joy for me to announce today to the hardworking Governor, Prof Zulum and the entire people of Borno State that the FG government working with our private sector partners will put up a world-class Shared Facility for MSMEs here in Maiduguri.   Furthermore, Mr President has directed that such a facility which must reflect the choices of the people of the State must be commissioned within the next 4 months.