Group urges youths to enrol in MSMEs to access CBN loan

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6 years ago

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Mr Olanrewaju Longe, Coordinator of Unemployed Graduates of Nigeria (UGN) Ondo State Chapter, has urged youths to embrace Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) training to access Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention loan.

Longe gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Akure on Friday.

According to him, instead of youths waiting for civil service jobs, they should embrace different windows of opportunities open at the CBN for loan facilities.

He said the youth could only enjoy the apex bank’s intervention facilities if they had been trained by certified agencies like the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) or Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

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Longe who is also Ondo State Youth President, said the certificates issued by the training agencies would be part of the criteria for MSMEs loan at the bank.

According to him, the state government is ready to partner with SMEDAN in training interested members of UGN.

“The executive members of UGN had discussed with Mr Joel Ogunsola, the Senior Special Assistant on Innovation and Partnerships to Gov. Rotimí Akeredolu to see how they can partner with SMEDAN to train unemployed youths.

“The Special Assistant has assured us that the governor is fully ready to make the partnership effective so that our youths can have their own substantive sources of income and livelihood,’’ he said.

Longe commended the step taken by the state governor in training some youths in partnership with NDE and certificates were issued to youths for onward processing of loan in CBN.

He commended the Federal Government through the CBN and Ondo State Government for youth-friendly MSMEs programmes.

He appealed to both the Federal and State Governments to do more, saying that no nation could survive without good welfare for its youths.

“We, unemployed graduates of Ondo State with registered members of over 66,000 across 18 local government areas of the state, commend Gov. Akeredolu for putting us in mind with good programmes for positive transformation.

“We are solidly behind him because one good turn deserves another and we promise him that he has our cooperation and support.

“Concerning his promise for distribution of `Keke Aketi’ (tricycles meant for commercial purpose), we humbly enjoin him to be fast about it because this gesture will make most of us bread-winners, ‘’ Longe said.