By Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
Worried by the decline in the economic and commercial activities and increased dependence on government for employment opportunities in Bauchi State, Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar has offered N1 billion interest-free loan to traders and artisans in the state.
The governor announced the loan offer Wednesday while addressing leaders of the state traders and artisans association who paid him a courtesy visit.
The governor, who observed that Nigerians must embrace businesses in order to reduce over-reliance on government, explained that the loan package is in line with the cardinal objective of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which his administration has been pursuing since inception in 2015.
He said the loan package will be perfected next week with banks, stressing that it is interest-free so that beneficiaries can repay with ease while also giving them the opportunities to expand the frontiers of their businesses to engage the teeming unemployed youths.
The state patron of the Traders and Artisans Association, Alhaji Salisu Garba Maizuma, who assured the governor of judicious utilisation of the loan applauded the governor for the purchase of the land that was given to traders for the expansion of Wunti market and the financial support he gave to victims of fire incidents in Bauchi and Azare.
Maizuma said traders and artisans in Bauchi are indebted to the governor and President Muhammadu Buhari for the concerns their administrations have shown to the plight of traders and artisans in the state.
