The South-Eastern region is experiencing a severe economic downturn and significant business disruptions due to the “sit-at-home” directive enforced by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra.

This concern was raised by the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, during a courtesy visit by the executives of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) in Abuja, led by Abdulrashid Yerima, the group’s president.

Mr Kalu observed that the South-East geopolitical zone loses between N10 billion and N13 billion in the transportation sector alone on every sit-at-home day weekly.

“When they sit at home in the South-East, the South-West, South-South, North-West, North-East, and North-Central are not sitting at home,’’ Mr Kalu said.

He also observed that the whole country suffers when SMEs in the South-East suffer, saying, “Prices of goods and services will suffer if there is insecurity in the land.”

Mr Kalu promised a legislative commitment to address concerns raised earlier by the visitors.

“We must examine existing laws that are not SMEs-friendly. That way, we can address some of the economic challenges facing the country via SMEs,’’ he said.

Mr Kalu promised to work with NASMEs for growth, adding that the 10th National Assembly would support its course with positive legislation.

He said recent data indicated that SMEs accounted for 48 per cent of national GDPs in emerging economies, just as the World Bank had declared that SMEs played a pivotal role in job creation.

Earlier, the NASME president appealed to Mr Kalu to facilitate laws supporting the growth of SMEs in Nigeria.

(NAN)