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From: Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
The Benue State government has set up a committee to work out modalities to recover Micro Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (MSME) loans disbursed by the immediate past administration of former Governor Gabriel Suswam to over 100 beneficiaries.
Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Terso Kpelai, disclosed this, on Thursday, while giving his midterm scorecard at the 2017 Accountability Press Briefing organised by the state Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Kpelai, who revealed that a consultant had been hired to recover the debts, explained further that the money, when recovered, would be committed into a revolving scheme to assist promoters of small and medium scale entrepreneurs in the state.
He intimated further that the ministry, in partnership with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) would soon undertake National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) scheme for the training and giving of start-off packs to 500 youths at the cost of N42.3 million.
The Commissioner who maintained that the beneficiaries who had already been selected across the 23 local government areas of the state would undergo three months training in six different skills after which they would be given start-off packs to take off on their own.
He also hinted that his ministry had identified and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a market developer who is ready to inject over N1 billion into reconstructing the burnt part of the Makurdi Modern Market as well as build 772 new shops in the phase two of the market.
“This exercise to upgrade the physical facilities and reconstruct the modern market will equip the market with modern facilities for smooth and effective trade flow.”
