Minister assures N500m MSME intervention will remain apolitical

John Owan-Enoh, Minister of State for Industry has said that the N500 million intervention fund for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will remain apolitical and credible.

Speaking to our correspondent during the unveiling of the initiative on Friday in Calabar, Owan-Enoh said his aimed the programme to be credible and reach the real residents in Cross River who required the financing.

“Since I decided to do this, I have received so many messages, from across the state, of people asking to be included; my answer to them has been the same, I don’t have the power to include you.

“Wait for the unveiling and follow the instructions, this is to avoid any political interference whatsoever.

Speaking further, Owan-Enoh said the programme was not for Cross River Indigenes alone but for every resident of the state with a business and in need of a grant to upscale his or her business.

He added that although he was worried about the continuous support of businesses in Nigeria as people were finding it hard to stand on their own, world over, government continued to assist people through interventions.

He said that not everyone given N500,000 would turn it around and succeed, and urged the government to assist those who still fall behind from time to time through interventions like this.

Speaking on behalf of the implementation committee, activist and journalist, Agba Jalingo explained that the programme would run in four batches and would have two sectors, formal and informal.

According to Jalingo, 150 beneficiaries from the formal sector would receive a maximum grant of N500,000 in each of the batches while 325 from the informal sector would receive N150,000 each.

“This is not government money, it is a private initiative of the minister and not a dime will be stolen; our duty is to ensure that every kobo goes directly to the people who need it most.

‘’The official website for applications is www.hmindustry.ng, while physical forms will be made available for artisans and small-scale business owners who cannot access the internet,’’ Jalingo said.