By Hutson Efosa, Abuja.
The Forum of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Business Membership Organizations of Nigeria, (FEMSBON), has set up a Committee towards the formal launch of the association next year.
The decision was reached at its inaugural meeting in Abuja, on Thursday, 10 Dec. 2020.
The 9- member committee was appointed to strategize and plan towards a formal launch of FEMSBON in the second quarter of 2021.
However, the board of trustee members of the forum has deemed it necessary to convene the meeting with other stakeholders to intimate them of the existing platform and solicit for collaboration to launch the platform with a view to creating public awareness that would further strengthen the relationship between operators and stakeholders in the MSME space through institutional engagement.
In an opening remark, the interim chairman of the forum, Alhaji Garba Ibrahim Gusau, mni, welcomed every stackholder to the meeting and expressed his excitement on how the forum has been striving and improving.
Alhaji Garba, however, expressed displeasure on how rebellious the average Nigerian youths have become.
According to him, “I am delighted that this meeting is holding at this time that Nigeria is faced with several challenges and strange experiences of seeming rebellious attitudes from our teaming youths. This is a pointer to the fact that something is wrong and requires urgent attention.
All hands must be on deck to address the situation”. He counseled.
Alhaji Garba continued, “some of these challenges bother on lack of jobs, under employment, no sustainable sources of income for quality livelihood by citizens and violence against women and girls on the increase coupled with drug abuse and addiction.
The chairman, also stated that the 41 million NISMEs operating in the different sector of the Nigerian economy, has the capacity to providing solution to all the challenges of job creation that is being faced in the country.
He also, stressed that the forum will be used to tap into the intervention programs that is been rolled out by Mr. President and the APC led administration’s agenda to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty and to also bridge the unemployment gap in the private sector.
Moreso, Mrs. Rose Gyar, Director General, GLOCHEED, who is also a member of the board of trustees, revealed in her opening remarks that the Forum was born out of the need to provide a link between the government and relevant stakeholders.
According to Mrs Gyar ” FEMSBON was necessitated out of the need to have a coordinated platform for easy engagement with government and other stakeholders in the MSME space to address cross-cutting issues across economic sector and social status i.e people with disability and albinism to enhance competitiveness of operators, facilitate easy information dissemination among MSME clusters and serve as a mechanism for inclusive advocacy supervision, monitoring and reporting, while also providing feedback on government and other stakeholder intervention for appropriate policy formulation and programme implementation” she said.
She also, made known in her statement that FEMSBON is saddled with the responsibility to provide: a coordinated platform for structured engagement on cross-cutting issues in the MSME space.
*To establish an inclusive mechanism for feedback and reporting on intervention and program implementation. To create a sustainable platform for advocacy on MSME challenges across economic sector, gender and social status.
To serve as a channel of communication to citizens, especially MSME operators on government intervention programmes and policies.
The highpoint of the occasion was the inauguration of the members of committee whose membership cut across private and public sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
