Kwara earmarks N2.5bn for SMEs development

Kwara State government has earmarked N2.5 billion for small and medium scale enterprises agency scheme to support groups, associations, clubs and cooperative societies.
The state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, who disclosed this yesterday at Government House, Ilorin, during a visit by members of Joint Tricycle Association of Kwara State (JOTAKWAS), said his administration’s initial capital of N250 million for the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises had grown to over N2.5 billion.
According to Governor Ahmed, the gesture is part of the administration’s effort at creating packages for organised associations “so that they can begin to meet their economic obligations to themselves and the state in the area of prompt payment of taxes to government.
“We are going to workout on a clear need assessment to determine how many tricycles are required and begin to work on this. Hopefully, we will begin to see a more focussed association, well structured, well organised with specific service rendering to the system.”
The governor expressed support for SMEs with a pledge of more subsidised tricycles for transporters in the state, just as he promised to support the association with take-off grant, a bus and an office secretariat with a view to seeing the association growing to become reliable, stronger and critical stakeholder in the state economic environment.
The governor, while stressing the need to maintain law and order and pay their taxes regularly, advised them to guide against infiltration by miscreants and criminals so that they would not be creating problem in the name of association for the state government.
Earlier, Duro Oyebade, chairman of JOTAKWAS, said restructuring of tricycle association by the state government had led to a reduction of violence and an improved revenue generation by the state government, and commended the governor for a purposeful leadership and efforts aimed at moving the state forward.