SMEDAN To Buy N6bn Motorcycles, Tricycles To Empower Youth And Women

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria will spend a total sum of N6.2bn on the purchase of motorcycles and tricycles as empowerment programmes for Nigerian youths and women, according to its 2024 budget obtained.

This is despite a full or partial ban by 12 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory on the operations of motorcycles. The governors, in different reports said the embargo was part of measures to curb rising insecurity.

The states include Cross Rivers, Kaduna, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom, Kano, Rivers, Abia, Anambra, Adamawa, Borno, Kwara and Zamfara.

The agency, saddled with the responsibility of assisting small and medium-scale enterprises to overcome poor infrastructure in the management of business operations and accessing financial services amongst other challenges, earmarked the substantial amount for the empowerment.

It also indicated plans to procure official vehicles for selected traditional rulers in the six geo-political zones at the cost of N5bn and construct two link roads in Enugu State for N440m.

Further analysis of the budget showed that SMEDAN intends to pay for a supply of keke napep to the underprivileged in the 36 states of the federation at the cost of N2.53bn.

Also, the agency said it would pay N500m for the supply of tricycles in eight local governments of Sokoto North Senatorial District to cushion subsidy removal and N50m for the provision of motorcycles for youths in Okija, Anambra state.

It apportioned N3bn for the provision of motorcycles, motor vehicles and keke napep to women and youths in the northwest geo-political zones in multiple lots and another N100m for supply of keke napep for the under privileged in seven LGAs of the Southern Senatorial District in Cross Rivers.

In the budget, the agency provisioned N1bn for the construction of office building and N3m for payment of rent despite commissioning its headquarters at Jabi, December 20, 2023.

At the unveiling, Vice President Kashim Shettima noted that the present administration was strategically focusing on job creation, capital accessibility, economic growth, and poverty eradication to revamp the economy.

“This moment solidifies His Excellency President Bola Tinubu’s assurance to protect our enterprises. It resonates deeply within our economic revitalisation plan. His focus on job creation, capital accessibility, economic growth, and poverty eradication forms the very skeleton of our strategy to invigorate the economy. Inevitably, this path demands tough decisions, yet ones essential to our success,” he said in his address.

Punch news/Olusola Akintonde