Eid-el-Kabir: NASWDEN Seeks FG Financial Support, Urges Members To Promote Peace And National Development

The National Association of Scrap and Waste Dealers Employers of Nigeria (NASWDEN) President, Engr. Ogbu Luke Uchechukwu, has felicitated with Muslims, especially members of the Association, on the occasion of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

In his Sallah message in Abuja, Engr. Ogbu Luke Uchechukwu urged Muslims to imbibe the lessons of the celebration, which include obedience, sacrifice, peaceful coexistence and love for one another irrespective of tribe, religion and political differences, for the betterment of the country.
He also emphasized the need for prayers for Nigeria to overcome its security and economic challenges.
The NASWDEN President used the opportunity to once again appeal to the Federal Government for financial support for members of the Association to boost their business activities and ensure effective empowerment.
According to him, the appeal became necessary to enable members to continue contributing to national economic development and complement government efforts in job and wealth creation across the country.
Engr. Ogbu Luke Uchechukwu stated that the Association has ensured effective and professional coordination of activities of its members nationwide, stressing the need for the Federal Government to establish an intervention fund to help grow their businesses.
He explained that NASWDEN had also put measures in place to achieve its objectives, including overseeing the activities of scrap dealers across Nigeria, assisting the Federal Government by ensuring members collaborate with security agencies, reducing vandalism of national infrastructure, and checking illegal activities among scrap dealers nationwide.
The National President further disclosed that the Association had established a Task Force in the FCT and the 36 states of the federation to checkmate cases involving the buying and selling of stolen items among its members.
Engr. Ogbu Luke Uchechukwu noted that NASWDEN was working closely with security agencies to uphold the integrity of members in the course of carrying out their legitimate businesses.
“In 2024 here in Abuja, we launched a Task Force called ‘Operation Say No To Vandals’ in collaboration with and with the support of the Inspector General of Police at the time, alongside the Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), as well as other security agencies. The purpose is to supervise what our members load and ensure that none of them transports stolen government or private property in the name of scrap to any user company,” he stated.
He added: “We also designed what is called ‘Clearance.’ After supervision at the loading point, if a member is found to have loaded genuine items without anything incriminating, the State Chairman of NASWDEN and the State Monitoring Team Chairman will issue a Clearance certificate to confirm that the items are genuine. If otherwise, the Monitoring Team will hand over the offender to security agencies for necessary action and prosecution.”
Engr. Ogbu Luke Uchechukwu, who said NASWDEN has over the years contributed immensely to Nigeria’s economic development, appealed to both State and Federal Governments to support members nationwide towards achieving the objectives of the Association.
“Since I was elected President of NASWDEN, I have provided employment opportunities to over 300 Nigerians through direct and indirect jobs across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. Since assuming office, I have also ensured the registration of scrap dealers nationwide to maintain their personal data for easy tracing whenever any member commits a crime. The registration exercise is still ongoing, although there are some northern states we are yet to cover where we recently inaugurated structures,” he stated.
The NASWDEN President stressed the need for members of the Association to shun acts capable of tarnishing the image and objectives of NASWDEN.
He also urged members to continue contributing their quota to national economic development.