Tinubu chairs FEC meeting as council weighs new policy for small businesses
- President Bola Tinubu presided over Wednesday's Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, arriving at the Council Chamber at 2:34pm.
- The council is expected to consider a new National Policy on Small and Medium Enterprises covering 2026 to 2030.
- The policy, awaiting FEC approval, aims to help small businesses win more government contracts.
President Bola Tinubu chaired a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja, with Vice President Kashim Shettima at his side.
The session got under way shortly after the President walked in at about 2:34pm, according to accounts from the State House. It was the first FEC meeting attended by the newly sworn-in Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Enitan Abel, since she took office.
Also in the room were Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, along with ministers, advisers and other senior officials.
Punch reported that the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs, the Federal Capital Territory and Aviation were among those absent.
Why small businesses are watching
The council is expected to look at a new National Policy on Small and Medium Enterprises, which would run from 2026 to 2030. The agenda was not made public, but the policy had been flagged a day earlier.
Charles Odii, Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), said on Tuesday that the agency was reviewing the policy and waiting for FEC's approval. He spoke in Abuja at the launch of a free digital training platform meant to help small firms compete for government contracts.
Odii said the policy provides for better participation by micro, small and medium enterprises in public procurement, describing public contracts as a route to growth and formalisation.
"We are reviewing the national policy on SMEs right now and we are just awaiting FEC approval," he said.
For the ordinary Nigerian, the stakes are practical. Small businesses are the country's biggest employers, and easier access to government contracts could mean more work, steadier income and jobs in local communities.
No decisions from Wednesday's meeting had been announced as of the time this report was filed. What the council agrees on the policy, and when it takes effect, will be the detail to watch.
