By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

A governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs Chidi Onyemelukwe, has said that she possesses the wand that can ignite an SME revolution and restore Anambra to its rightful status as the Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME) capital of Nigeria.

She harped on the need to broaden economic opportunities for the people, especially the youths, saying that it is not a cliché.

Onyemelukwe regretted that a lot of youthful energies that could be put into meaningful ventures are being wasted because young people are allowed to wallow in idleness.

She added: “Nigeria has been unfair to her youths and have mortgaged their future. In consequence, the country keeps seeing massive investments of the creative energies of our young people into destructive ventures.

You may be aware that I served as a Special Assistant to the President on SMEs.

“As President Olusegun Obasanjo’s SA, I, in concert with other colleagues, spearheaded the initiative, planning and implementation of some of the major SME programs and projects of the Government of Nigeria, which later culminated in the formation of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). So when I talk about creation of jobs through SMEs, I am talking from the vantage point of experience.

“Thankfully, Anambra has a vast number of self-starters. The state’s organised private sector is ranked in the top three nationally as the most vibrant, capitalized and intrusive. All the government needs to do is to implement sensible policies that will offer our people the needed support and enabling environment to unleash their creativity and enterprise.

“The plans to do these have been perfected. All I ask now is for the opportunity to ignite the SME revolution our youths so desperately need. We did it in Obasanjo’s government. God willing, we will get the opportunity and replicate that feat in Anambra.”

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