‘Tinubu committed to tackling erosion menace, infrastructure gaps in S’East’

Shettima hails Mbah, says he means well for Enugu 

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is committed to bridging the infrastructure gap and ending the erosion menace in the Southeast geopolitical zone.

The Vice President also announced grants of N150,000 to outstanding Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Enugu State.

Shettima, who stated this while launching the 5th edition of the Expanded National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Clinic in Enugu, also hailed Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for lifting the people of the state from the ruins of poverty to the current state of economic prosperity.

He expressed happiness that Mbah’s administration has positively changed the face of Enugu within a short time in office.

“Until the emergence of Governor Mbah, Enugu was a sleepy town that didn’t even have a water supply. So, Your Excellency, we want to thank you. We want to commend you. We want to identify with you,” he said.

While lamenting that erosion was already affecting the livelihood of Nigerians in the region, Shettima disclosed that the president had concluded plans to have discussions with the National Assembly and governors of the Southeast to come up with a workable solution to permanently deal with erosion in the region.

He said: “The problems of the Southeast are problems of infrastructural deficit; problems of erosions that are affecting the very livelihood of our people, especially in states like Anambra, Abia and even Enugu. These are issues that need practical solutions.

“And in all honesty in terms of governance, we’ve never had it so good in the Southeast like the current dispensation. We have to sustain that brotherhood, that relationship for the good of our people. Through development and investments in education, we can change the narrative from negativity to positivity.

“The President told me that I must come to Enugu and assure the good people of Enugu that our government must do whatever we can to support the people of Southeast. Enugu holds a special place in my heart. President Bola Tinubu has a special place in his heart for Enugu and the Southeast. This led to the passing of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) into law and his quick assent to the bill. And the headquarters of SEDC is here in Enugu.”

Shettima, who reiterated the Federal Government’s support for MSMEs, noted that the N150,000 grant “is an outright grant that does not require beneficiaries to repay.”

Governor Mbah hailed the Vice President for being a champion of MSMEs’ growth in Nigeria, noting that only moments earlier, Shettima commissioned the Enugu State Fashion and Garment Hub, a facility developed by the Office of the Vice President in partnership with the Enugu State Government through the Enugu SME Centre.

He said the Expanded National MSME Clinics came as a gift of priceless value to young entrepreneurs in the state and beyond because almost 90 per cent of businesses in the country are small-scale.