8th January, 2018
The Federal Government on Monday pledged to resuscitate the Industrial Development Centre (IDC) in Edo to support Medium and Small Enterprises, as well as promote made in Nigeria goods in the state.
The Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, made the pledge when she paid a courtesy visit to Gov. Godwin Obaseki at the Government House, Benin.
Abubakar said she was in the state to assess the condition of the centre, being one of the 23 such centres spread across the country.
She said the centre had been selected to be used as model for the proposed new cluster industrial parks in the country.
She added that when resuscitated, the centre would serve as hub for small and medium scale enterprises to enable them to showcase their products, with a view to getting easy access to approvals from relevant regulatory agencies.
Earlier, the Director-General of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) Alhaji Dikko Umaru, had expressed concern over encroachment into the land in Evbuotubu in Egor Local Government Area of the state.
Umaru appealed to the state government to intervene by ensuring that the land was reclaimed or an alternative land provided for the centre.
Gov. Obaseki, represented by his Deputy, Mr Philip Shiabu, assured the minister of state government’s
readiness to partner with Federal Government to improve the development of small and medium scale enterprises in the state.
He said the proposed Edo Industrial Park under construction was designed to improve the development of medium and small scale enterprises in the state.
Obaseki said the state government would enforce available laws in reclaiming the encroached land allocated to the centre, as well as other encroached government land.
He said the economic agenda of his administration was to grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the state to reflect directly on the lives of the people.