The Abia State Governor,Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has been lauded for attaching premium to the development of Small and Medium Enterprises Development in the state.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr Chikamnayo gave the commendation while interacting with newsmen on the sidelines of the World SME Day Celebration with theme; “Resilience And Rebuilding MSMES For Sustainable Development”.
He further lauded the Governor for building unprecedented capacity for Abia artisans to harness their talents, expand their businesses and create massive employment opportunities.
Describing Governor Ikpeazu as the number one SME Governor in Nigeria,Dr Chikamnayo noted that Abia won the award as SME capital of Nigeria as a result of Governor Ikpeazu’s track record of achievements in SME development.
“Governor Ikpeazu is the number one Governor when it comes to SME development with enormous achievement in the SME sector and has used that sector to build a lot of capacity that is unprecedented not just in Abia state but in Nigeria”, he said.
Chikamnayo highlighted some of the achievements of the present administration in SME development to include creation of the Ministry of SME Development, training of artisans abroad, setting up of the Enyimba automated shoe factory, leather and garment industries, granting of soft loans to entrepreneurs as well as provision of job opportunities to over five hundred thousand youths through direct and indirect involvement in shoe and leather works.
He noted that the ongoing SME workshop in the state will enableyoung artisans, entrepreneurs to be formed into clusters and thanked Governor Ikpeazu for his vision, innovation and tenacity of purpose which has brought Abia to the limelight not just in the SME sector but also in the area of capacity development.
