Jalingo urged the public to watch out for further information and discouraged lobbying regarding the programme.
By TheInvestigator
“Barring any last-minute changes, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh (JOE), will on Thursday, August 28, 2025, unveil the OWAN-MSME Support Initiative in Calabar.”
This revelation was made by Citizen Agba Jalingo on social media. According to him the initiative is a private intervention by the Minister to help people without active interest in day-to-day politics create an alternative economy in Cross River State. The programme targets both the formal and informal sectors and is open to Cross Riverians and non-Cross Riverians living in Cross River who are running small businesses or intend to start viable small business ideas in or outside the state.
A total of ₦500 million will be available to 1,000 entrepreneurs in four phases. Details on how to apply and how beneficiaries will be selected will be made public after the unveiling.
Jalingo stated he will be fully involved from start to finish, citing the development of technology-driven processes aimed at transparency, fairness and accountability. He noted that past interventions have suffered from corruption, sleaze and cronyism, and said the current effort seeks to clean up or bypass such pitfalls.
He added that he will lead a panel of seasoned technocrats and enterprise development specialists to assess and select beneficiaries through a transparent, accountable and verifiable process. According to him, the Minister has promised the team a free hand, without political encumbrance and beyond political divides.
Jalingo urged the public to watch out for further information and discouraged lobbying regarding the programme.