By Emeagi Emeka Williams
General Secretary, Organised Private Sector of Nigeria, Osun chapter, Prince Olusegun Okedele Timothy, has lauded the National President of the Nigeria Association of Small Scale Industrialists, Chief Solomon Vongfa, for efforts at ensuring a more developed and productive industrial sector in Nigeria.
Speaking to newsmen at his Osogbo office at the weekend, Okedele pointed at the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NASSI and the Bank of Industry, BOI which qualifies NASSI members for the FGN Intervention Fund, as reason for his declaration.
Okedele who is also the Osun state Chairman of the NASSI, said the M o U is a milestone achievement especially as it opens a vista for NASSI members to access loans totalling 76 billion from the BOI to enhance their various businesses that have capacity for massive employment creation, GDP enhancement and more.
Wishing the President well and praying for greater successes, Okedele described him as a statesman cut out for strategic nation building actions through a sector so crucial to rendering Nigeria a more productive nation.
He also averred that this latest opportunity for Industrialists will not only positively rubb off on production or service capacity, but will significantly depopulate the labour market, stressing that unemployment will dwindle as the various industries scale through the loan scheme empowerment.
“NASSI members have no choice than to be more collaborative with the president, creative in functionality and patriotic as citizens.
“We are not just happy with our leader, but also pleased with the initiatives of govt through the BOI”, he stressed.
For Nigeria to berth competitively on the shore of industrial creativity and Productivity, Okedele urged the adoption of renewable/alternative energy technologies by the FG and the various states.
Highlighting the essence of the RE on national/ economic development, he pointed that the technology has capacity to energise areas not reached by
national power grid, stressing that it has the nature to electrify small, medium scale production clusters sited in various areas with ease.
According to Okedele, it has become expedient in the urgency of now, for govts (FG, states) to incorporate Renewable Energy Technology in the existing educational curriculum, in order to fully maximize the quantum potentials in this environment friendly energy technology.
“It is through the renewable energy education scheme that the younger generation will holistically understand that the technology is not just harnessing the power of the Sun for Solar power.
“It is so shocking that at a time when the western world is deeply leveraging on this beautiful technology, Nigeria has yet to properly embrace it.
“The Green Technology is full of opportunities that can accelerate technological advancement and employment engagement of the youths.
“I pray earnestly that my state Osun will take full possession of the these technologies and become a leader to the envy of others.
“In my capacity, I will help Osun with an array of technologists.
“It will be a thing of joy for me to create an action that will create a new wave of employment opportunities, particularly by encouraging Osun state chapter members of NASSI to go all out to get the BOI loans, to grossly boost the SMEs space”, he ended.
