From Francis Nansak,Lafia
The Nasarawa state government has began the training of 200 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the state for efficient business and contract delivery.
This is with the view of ensuring that fake and quarks are flush out in the system to allow quality, honesty and sanity in awards of contracts and ot timely delivery.
Governor Abdullahi Sule on Monday in Lafia during a sensitisation and interactive capacity training session with the SMEs organized by the Nasarawa State Government in collaboration with Charter House Consulting Limited and the World Bank explained that the sensitisation session is principally to build the capacity of SMEs on procurement Guidelines as enshrined in the State’s procurement law.
Represented by the Commissioner of Finance, Haruna Ogbole, Governor Abdullahi Sule said: “I wish to categorically state that the present administration attaches a lot of importance to inclusive governance, especially with respect to indigenes of the state who have the expertise, capacity and seriousness to contribute to the growth and rapid development of our young state.
“I have no iota of doubt in my mind that the SMEs are businesses with small equity or capital in terms of size, plans and machinery as well as staff strength.
“Your participation in our procurement system will not only create massive job opportunities both formal and informal, it will also foster desired economic security for our youths as well as contribute to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“We are starting with the training of one hundred participants for now then additional one hundred participants will be trained in the next batch”, the governor said.
Also speaking at the event, the Director General, Bureau for Public Procurement, Mr Dominic Bako, said it was discovered that most contractors in the state are quacks and the management is doing everything possible to get rid of them in the system.
“His Excellency has directed that we should have a comprehensive list of all these contractors so we are going to update the list of all the contractors. We will link up with the Corporate Affairs Commission to know those who are registered”, he said.
