Hand Over Of Edo State Furniture Production Shared Facility For MSMEs On 17/12/2021

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE- PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE COMMISSIONING AND HANDING OVER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FURNITURE PRODUCTION SHARED FACILITY IN EDO STATE UNDER THE NATIONAL MSME CLINIC SCHEME ON THE 17^TH OF DECEMBER 2021

PROTOCOLS

I bring you very warm greetings of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, who has asked me to specifically tender his warm regards to the government and industrious people of Edo State.

MSMEs are a priority for the Buhari Administration because they are an engine of growth for the economy and because they account for almost half of national income and three-quarters of jobs.

Given our determination to support our countrymen and women who run small businesses, we have held MSME Clinics in at least 29 states. In the course of running the Clinics, we noticed that in addition to their requests for a more friendly regulatory environment, MSMEs also wanted to be supported in terms of production facilities which were lacking or too expensive.

This is how we came up with the idea of supporting MSMEs by providing at least one Shared Facility in every State of the Federation. Shared Facilities provide MSME clusters with machinery that different businesses can use or rent for short periods.

In addition to convenience, and access to the latest equipment, this arrangement also spares them the financial burden of having to purchase vital equipment on their own. I think this is a very important aspect of the work of the MSME Clusters; that most, in this case, carpenters and cabinet makers would be unable to afford the type of machines that are here. The idea is to provide the heavy equipment for them so that they can come in and use the equipment. That’s the way by which we can expand the scope of work of MSME Clusters.

On the 14^th of June 2018, Edo State Government hosted the 16^th National MSME Clinic and after subsequent consultations, it was agreed that the Shared Facility in Edo State would be in the furniture manufacturing sector.

Accordingly, the Federal Government and the Edo State Government began the process of delivering what you are witnessing today.  On the Federal side, MSME partners such as the Bank of Industry, NEXIM Bank, NAFDAC, SON, ITF, Raw Materials and Research Development Council and the Private Sector came together with the Edo State Government which provided and renovated this premises.

In addition to providing a suitable location, the State Government also provided the workspace to house the equipment.

I, therefore, wish to thank and congratulate Governor Godwin Obaseki and his team for the partnership and dedication towards the entire process, and also for the excellent arrangements they have made for the commissioning today.

This facility is equipped with state-of-the-art machines and equipment, which when used to full capacity can produce 250 furniture items daily including doors, dining sets, credenzas and cabinets.

I, therefore, call on MSMEs in Edo State within the furniture producing space to take full advantage of this facility in improving their production.

I am aware that the team were put under constant positive pressure into ensuring that all was ready in good time for today. I am glad to say that that Edo State officials coped well under pressure from the work they’ve done even overnight, trying to ensure the equipment were ready.

Equally notable is the fact that the State Government is thinking of replicating furniture manufacturing clusters across some of its Technical Colleges in the State. This would be very welcome as it underscores the real essence of this Shared Facility.

It is our expectation that once a Shared Facility is commissioned, the State then expands the availability of such facilities for the benefits of our many industrious MSMEs.

I think it is important to point out that this Shared Facility is one of several being built across all States of the Federation.  We started with four notably:

• In Benue State, we have built a 200,000 capacity Yam Storage facility, at the Zaki Biam International Yam Market, the largest yam market in Africa, and possibly in the world.

• In Lagos State, we built the Eko MSME Fashion Hub 1 (one) around Allen Avenue which services about 300 tailors and fashion designers daily.

• The Anambra State Facility is in Ogbunike, Oyi, it is a shoemaking facility with industrial equipment and machines within close proximity of the Anambra shoe-makers cluster.

• Just three days ago, we commissioned the Shared Facility in Owerri, Imo State which is dedicated to fashion and comprises 200 world-class manual and fully automated fashion equipment.

In addition to the four already in place and this making the 5th, there is a calendar to commission other Shared Facilities as follows:

• The Shared Facility for Kaduna State is located within Soba Tomato cluster in Soba Local Government Area of the State.

• The Kebbi State Facility located in Birnin-Kebbi, which will provide 2 lines of rice milling machinery to assist rice farmers to also mill their rice and benefit more from the rice production value chain.

• The Ogun Shared Facility is located within the popular Adire Market in Abeokuta.

• Ebonyi State Facility located within the Uburu Industrial Cluster in Uburu, Ebonyi State. Machines are being made for the production of various types of footwear and leather works for shoe-makers.

• Kano State Facility is located within the Kano Metropolis of the State for various types of footwear and leather works for shoe-makers in the State. AS you know, Kano State is famous for its leatherware.

• The Katsina State Facility will cater for Tomato farmers within the State through the provision of modern machinery for the production of tomato paste.

• The Ekiti State Facility will cater for cocoa farmers through the provision of machinery for the processing of cocoa and cocoa flour.

• The Bauchi State Facility is expected to be located around Azare in the State and will cater for groundnut farmers through the provision of modern groundnut oil milling plants.

There’s a plan to ensure that wherever we find a State that is willing to cooperate, forward-looking and prepared to provide these types of facilities, we are ready and able to support. I’d like to say to the Governor that we are prepared to support all other efforts to ensure that this Shared Facility or any other facility for the development of MSMEs is attended to as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

In closing, let me quickly state that as it is with other Shared Facilities commissioned, this Shared Facility will be run by a competent private sector firm while the Federal and State Governments keep a constant eye on its activities to ensure it achieves its set objectives.

It is also our expectation that our MSME partners will ensure that final products from here meet global standards and are fit for export to the rest of the world.

Let me end by thanking all the other MSME partners and agencies for their contribution to making this project a reality, and also to thank again His Excellency, Governor Obaseki and his team for the excellent arrangements that have been, not only for this facility but also for the great progressive work that we are seeing practically across all the State. We look forward to working with you hand-in-hand to ensure you’re able to deliver on all of your plans and promises to the good people of this State.

Thank you all for your kind attention.