Unemployment: MAN tasks youths on MSMEs

The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Engr. Mansur Ahmed, has said that Nigerian youths must be supported to develop the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), being the largest employers of labour in the country.

He said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and swearing-in of new executive of the MAN FCT Chapter.

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“Nigerians should also explore opportunities for self-employment and this is why we continue to push for young people to go into MSMEs to build their own enterprises, so that employment will be more readily available.

“Large companies by their nature are not literally really the core employers, it is the small companies that are in large numbers, employing 20 people, 30 people, 50 people that when there are large numbers of them, So, we encourage, SMEs because they are the ones that really in the long-term employer,” Ahmed said.

Also, the newly elected Chairman of MAN in FCT, and Executive Director, Nigeria Security Printing and Minting (NSPM), Abubakar Sule Minjibir, said it is a tradition since the establishment of MAN in 1971 to advocate for the development of Nigerian economy and the interest of MAN members.

“We hold AGM, an annual lecture and we change leadership. We have the MD NEXIM that deliver the paper. My advice for manufacturers is that we need more members, the more members we have the better for us for the interest of MAN, to influence government at national and sub-national levels,” Minjibir said.

He also said that it is not true that MAN is only existing on papers now, as MAN has evolved overtime and its impact on financing, regulation and also improvement on Ease of Doing Business among others are being driven by MAN following partnership and collaboration with government and other stakeholders.

The outgoing chairman, MAN, FCT, Mr. Odun Emaselau, said the impact of MAN in helping the country overcome the recession twice recently means that the association is committed to national development and the economic advancement of the country.