…Says staple foods will be available, affordable
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said Monday that the federal government would fund 75 enterprises to kickstart sustainable economic growth in the country.
The President said this in a nationwide broadcast to Nigerians on the current economic challenges in the country.
He said the federal government would spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024 to strengthen the manufacturing sector and increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs.
“To strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs, we are going to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start a sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity,” he said.
He said each of the the 75 manufacturing enterprises would be able to access N1 billion credit at 9% per annum with maximum of 60 months repayment for long term loans and 12 months for working capital.
The President said the federal government would also strengthen the micro, small and medium enterprises with N125 billion.
“Our administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector with N125 billion.
“Out of the sum, we will spend N50 billion on Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024. Our target is to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country.
“Ultimately, this programme will further drive financial inclusion by onboarding beneficiaries into the formal banking system. In like manner, we will fund 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups with N75 billion. Under this scheme, each enterprise promoter will be able to get between N500,000 to N1million at 9% interest per annum and a repayment period of 36 months,” he said.
The President also spoke on agriculture and the rising cost of food items, saying that the federal government had engagements with various farmers’ associations to address the challenges.
He said the federal government would ensure that staple foods are available and affordable in all parts of the country.
“To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.
“In the short and immediate terms, we will ensure staple foods are available and affordable. To this end, I have ordered release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices. We are also providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.
“Our plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows: Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize; N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.
“This expansive agricultural programme will be implemented targeting small-holder farmers and leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with strong performance record,” he said.
He said the expertise of development finance institutions, commercial banks and microfinance banks would be tapped into to develop a viable and an appropriate transaction structure for all stakeholders in the agriculture sector.
The President said the newly established Infrastructure Support Fund for the States would invest in critical areas and bring relief to many of the pain points, and revamp the country’s decaying healthcare and educational infrastructure.
“The fund will also bring improvements to rural access roads to ease evacuation of farm produce to markets. With the fund, our states will become more competitive and on a stronger financial footing to deliver economic prosperity to Nigerians,” he said.
