The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo, has assured the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) of the government’s support to its efforts to reboot the economy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Ayoola Olukanni, Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), said in a statement on Sunday that the minister gave the assurance at a private meeting with the OPSN.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that members of the OPSN at the meeting were the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).

Others were the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) and the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI).

Adebayo said that his ministry would support and work closely with the private sector as the government works to reboot the economy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister reaffirmed the role the private sector had to play in the bid to restart the economy of the nation.

He said that the series of stimulus packages would be made available soon to assist operators and operations in the private sector.

“These include an N50 billion survival funds for MSME; and an N15 billion Guaranteed Uptake Scheme to save 500,000 jobs,” Adebayo said.

He also revealed that under some of these interventions, 40 percent of the funds were reserved for women-owned businesses.

Also, Olukanni said the meeting discussed and agreed that the implementation of projects and programs under the Economy Sustainability Plan recently approved by the National Executive Council would be in close cooperation with members of OPSN.

In her remarks, the OPSN President Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu lauded the minister for the opportunity given to the private sector to present its positions and requests.

Iya Aliyu called for closer ties between the OPSN and the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, especially as the country struggles to save and reboot the economy.

She said the present situation truly presented an opportunity to diversify the economy and make it more self-reliant, adding that steps must be taken toward the attainment of the goal.

Other issues discussed at the meeting were Maritime Port Reforms; Appropriate Gas pricing; Special Economic Zones and Industrial Clusters, as well as stable and regular power supply.