Tinubu presides over FEC meeting

President Bola Tinubu. Photo: State House

President Bola Tinubu is presiding over a meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

The meeting began shortly after Tinubu arrived at the venue at 2:34pm, accompanied by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Our correspondent observed that the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs, the Federal Capital Territory and Aviation, among others were absent from Wednesday’s meeting.

The council is expected to consider a new National Policy on Small and Medium Enterprises as one of the items on the agenda.

The Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Charles Odii, had on Tuesday hinted at the pending policy while speaking at the rollout of a free digital training platform designed to improve SME access to government contracts in Abuja.

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Odii said, “SMEDAN welcomes this partnership as the apex agency for MSME development. We see this portal as a practical step towards making government a more accessible market for entrepreneurs.

“When capable SMEs can compete for public contracts on clear terms, they gain avenues and experience, government broadens its supplier base, and more value stays in the local economy.

“This is fully consistent with the national policy on MSMEs. We are reviewing the national policy on SMEs right now and we are just awaiting the FEC approval for the policy, from 2026 to 2030, and the policy expressly provides for improved MSME participation in public procurement under its market access provisions, recognising public contracts as a strategic route for enterprise growth, formalisaton, and local content.”

Details later…

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