The Lagos Island Club Quarterly Business lecture held on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, featuring the PDP presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his campaign train.
The event, our correspondent learnt, focused on the urgent need to find solutions to the loss of jobs in the economy. Besides, it offered Abubakar an opportunity to unveil his Atiku Plan which he hopes to execute if voted into office.
Last year, it was reported that an estimated 20.9m people lost their jobs in an economy many believe is shrinking.
Also in attendance at the lecture were former president, Olusegun Obasanjo; the campaign DG of the PDP presidential campaign; Dr. Bukola Saraki, and the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus.
A curious attendee was said to have raised concerns about the future of SMEs in the country and how Abubakar hopes to deal with it in order to get Nigeria working again through SMEs. He also wanted to know how the Atiku/Obi candidacy could create jobs and reduce poverty through SMEs and encourage women and youths to key into the plan.
Atiku was said to have answered by recalling that he owns a micro-finance bank which has helped to bring out 46,000 families from poverty in Adamawa State.
Atiku on the power of SMEs and how it has turned the fortunes of many, particularly women in the North East region, stated that “80 per cent of the loans go to women. We have moved 45,000 families out of poverty in my area with small loans (N200,000), and we have a 98 percent recovery rate.”
He noted that “we will assist the SMEs to grow bigger and to be more productive. As we all know, small businesses offer the greatest opportunities for achieving inclusive, pro-poor growth, through increased self-employment.”
