An economic analyst, Charles Nicholas, who made the call said a recent research has shown that the government does not employ more than five million in its workforce. According to him, only 40 per cent of the labour force are employed in the SMEs.
Speaking with reporters in Abuja, ahead of the International CEOs Economic Summit scheduled to hold between November 28 and 29 in Lagos, Nicholas, who is the international coordinator of CEO Business Journal said:“The SMEs are the main drivers of the economy and employ 40 per cent of the labour force. We did an estimate of the total number of staff being employed by the government and they are not more than five million.
“Nigeria should stop importation of what it can produce locally. The government should enact laws and policies to boost SMEs. I mean empowerment that would be with less interest rates and policies that make banks to fund ideas and projects.”
He stated that globally, the need for strong and sustainable economic structure that is private sector-driven is the solution to creating massive job opportunities in many countries.
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