President Bola Tinubu’s passion for the promotion of small businesses in all parts of Nigeria has again been highlighted.
A foremost economist and business mogul in Nigeria, Chief Tony Elumelu, disclosed the President’s passion during an interview with State House Correspondents, soon after he had a closed door meeting with the Nigerian leader.
He said business owners in the country are happy with the commitment of President Tinubu towards the promotion of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“It is always a pleasure and a privilege to be granted an audience by the President. We discussed economic issues. As a member of the Presidential Economic Council, I also gave feedback on what is happening in the economy.
“We also talked about small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and how to further support Nigerian medium and small scale enterprises. From our discussion, the President is very passionate about that,” he said.
Tony Elumelu also disclosed that the MSMEs stand to gain a lot from the current administration’s tax reforms.
“We talked about tax reforms and how he wants to use that to support small and medium enterprises in this country. We also spoke about the Bank of Industry and he expressed delight at what the bank is doing in support of small businesses in Nigeria and he wants them to do more.
“To me it was gratifying because the Tony Elumelu Foundation always supports young entrepreneurs in Nigeria and across the world. So, for the President to be supporting small businesses, to me, it is so encouraging because it shows there is alignment and I believe that this is what Nigerian youths need and I thank the President for that commitment and looking forward to greater things happening,” the business mogul stated.
While underscoring the importance of electricity to the economic development of Nigeria, Mr Elumelu said his discussion with the President touched on that and the President indicated his willingness to fast-track the payment of power sector debt.
He also used the opportunity to commend what the Central Bank Governor is doing with regard to the stability currently enjoyed by the country in the foreign exchange market.
“Regarding the monetary policy, if you see what the Central Bank Governor and his team are doing, it is quite encouraging. We have had some predictability and stability. For me, not just as the Chairman of a bank but also an entrepreneur, what is important is to be able to predict the direction of things in an economy so you can plan very well,” he added.