FG to lift Nigeria out of poverty through ERGP, NSMEs — Adebayo

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo has said the Federal Government is doing all it takes to lift the country out of poverty and unemployment through policies that include the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the Economic Sustainability Plan and the various support schemes for the Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sectors of the economy. Adebayo disclosed this yesterday, at the 2020 Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Merit awards ceremony, at the organisation’s corporate headquarters in Jos, Plateau State.

Represented by a Director in the Ministry, Mr. Samuel Alabi, he commended the ITF for equipping youths with requisite skills and trainings that can take the country out of poverty and further reduce unemployment, adding that the scorecard presented depicted the organisation as not relenting in its efforts to effectively discharge its mandate.

According to him, one agency that has been at the forefront of these efforts is the ITF, adding that it has become a dependable ally of the Federal Government, through implementation of several skills intervention programmes that have trained over 500,000 since the Director-General, Sir Joseph N. Ari, assumed office in 2016.

“It is for this reason and in appreciation of its contributions to national growth, that the Council for the Development of the MSMEs, headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, rewarded ITF with the prestigious award of excellence as Outstanding MSMEs Clinic Star Partner and the award for outstanding contribution to the development of MSMEs in Nigeria respectively.

“It is equally noteworthy that ITF has been mentioned and identified by the Presidency as the foremost agency of government at the forefront of Federal Government’s job and wealth creation policy. The organisation was among the few agencies requested by the Federal Government to forward submissions on the best approach to lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty,” he said.