A youth group, calling itself the “Big six”, and believed to be affiliated to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Northern Region on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, stormed the office of the National Board for Small Skills Industries (NBSSI) and locked out all its officers.
According to Citi News sources, the five-member group ordered all staff of NBSSI to leave their offices peacefully without asking questions.
The group accused the officials of lending loans to members of the opposition National Democratic Congress.
Even though the staff of NBSSI declined to speak to the media, the Northern Regional Security Liason Officer, Rt colonel A. R Salifu, admitted the incident was reported to him and that he had called for the leadership of the “Big Six” for a meeting.
“I have called the leadership to come to my office and I will find out exactly what was the reason for the action they have taken. I’m waiting for them to come to the office so that this matter will be discussed thoroughly so it doesn’t escalate to other parts of the region.”
According to him, the group had also intended to extend their action to the Sagnerigu municipal office, but he persuaded them to stop.
About NBSSI
The National Board for Small Scale Industries is a non-profit public sector organisation under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiatives and came into being in 1985.
NBSSI has its Head Office in Accra, secretariats in all the regional capitals and Business Advisory Centres (BACs) in one hundred and ten (110) district capitals.
Services offered by the NBSSI include business development services for micro and small enterprises.
At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, government allocated NBSSI funds to disburse to businesses in distress.
