The government has been urged to step up its efforts to combat insecurity in order to foster an atmosphere that would support corporate growth and contribute to the nation’s sustainable development.
Timothy Omoruyi, a former director of the organisation, made the appeal at a one-day interactive forum organised by Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Benin Area Office. He also urged individuals, business organisations, and civil society groups to join the fight because it is becoming challenging to conduct business in the current chaotic environment.
Insecurity, according to him, had caused businesses to close, production to be disrupted, market size and revenue to be limited, and security costs to rise, which in turn lessened production and human resource problems.
He said, “Insecurity is hurting business. The government, business organisations, civil society and individuals must collaborate to battle the problem of insecurity. If banditry, kidnapping, insurgency continues it will be difficult to keep the few companies operating in the country in business, while new ones will not come to invest.”
In his welcome speech, ITF Benin’s acting area manager, Bamidele Oloje, who also served as a proxy for the organization’s director general, Joseph Ntung Ari, said the area office had implemented a number of programmes in the state that benefited people with physical disabilities as part of its mission to eradicate poverty, reduce unemployment, and provide skilled labour in a variety of economic sectors.
