Gov. Lalong pledges on supporting MSMEs.

GOVERNOR Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State has said that his administration would remain committed to the development of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises through cutting edge interventions such as skills development, capacity building on entrepreneurship, promotion of enabling environment to strive in the state.

Lalong who was represented by the Director General , State Micro Development Agency Mr. Haggai Gutap stated this at the flag-off of Simon Lalong Empowerment Scheme (SLEMS) across the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) organized by Apurimac Onlus Nigeria, held at the Azi Nyako Youth Centre Dadin- Kowa Jos, recently.
The Governor said the occasion was a special one for the people of Plateau, especially in the search of providing youth and women with skills and adequate capacity to contribute to sustainable development. 
He maintained that, public private partnership was key to the development and growth of every economy, specifically because it promotes efficient and leads to reduction in cost of doing business.
He added that, considering the present condition, the global and the Nigeria economy was passing through the need for economic diversification could not be over emphasized, adding that, Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMES) have proven to be the engine of economic growth employment generation and wealth creation the poverty reduction.
Lalong said the fundamental goals of his administration was revamping the productive and service sectors of the state economy with the view to creating mass job opportunities and reducing poverty across the state.
According to him, meaningful development could only be achieved in the state when the MSMES were committed to best operational practice, saying that over 70 percent of the economy was controlled by the informal sector which was the main reason why government was focusing on mainstreaming the informal sector of the economy by strengthening the real sectors.
Lalong commended the management of Apurimac Onlus Nigeria for organizing program which he said was timely because this was what he considered critical for national growth and development and assured them of the commitment to continuously partner with private institutions to move the state to the next level of development.
The Governor urged all the trainees to dedicate themselves to training and exhibit high sense of discipline throughout the period of training.
In his remarks, Plateau State Commissioner for Youth and Development, Hon. Danladi Mann who was represented by Director Youth Development of the Ministry, Mr. Daniel Amana said that the ministry would remain supportive to any organization that was into friendly youth unemployment and character building.
Also in his remark, country Directr Apurimac Onlus Nigeria and coordinator SLEMS, Mr. Godwin Okoko said that the SLEMS was expected to train women and youth in different skills across the 17 LGAs, adding that the programmes were going to be proudly supported by NGOs. The occasion also featured a paper presentation on Entrepreneurship Development; a panacea for job creation in a recessionary economy by Mr. Martins Gumut of University of Jos.