Samuel Oyadongha
23 July 2008
Lagos — Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva has said government would set up the state's version of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to drive the local economy.
Chief Sylva stated this when the Special Assistant to the Vice President on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (MSME), Mr. Muhammed Baba Kachalla and the acting Director General on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, (SMEDAN), Mr. Wale Fasanya visited Yenagoa.
The governor, Sylva, who noted that the development of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) was a major policy thrust of his administration, said there was no way the local economy could develop without a deliberate effort to develop and strengthen the SMEs.
To manage the agency effectively, the governor in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ola Doifie, requested for assistance in the area of training, noting that his administration's Poverty Alleviation Programme would key into the agency.
He said in addition to setting up the local version of SMEDAN in the state, government was desirous of partnering with the Federal Government in the area of establishing a business support services scheme.
The governor disclosed that as part of his administration's commitment to the development of SMEs in the state, the state government has undertaken to train 50 youths in the area of tailoring in Thailand .
Chief Sylva said on completion of their training abroad, the youths would be set up in business at a proposed tailoring park to be established by the state government.
The governor noted that the tailoring park would be fully equipped to meet the needs of Bayelsans and beyond, stressing that the move, in addition to boosting small and medium scale businesses in the state would go a long way in minimizing youth restiveness.
Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Vice President on MSME, Mr. Kachalla had explained that it was in pursuit of the realization of Mr. President's 7 point agenda that the agency was established in the country.
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