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By Merit Ibe
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called for regulatory reforms that support MSMEs and domestic manufacturing to create jobs and grow revenues.
Director General of the chamber, Chinyere Almona, who made the call recently in Lagos, cited Nigeria’s fragile economic conditions as justification for urgent fiscal reform, noting that a swift implementation of tax reforms, backed by improved tax administration systems, will increase government’s revenue.
The call follows the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) downward revision of Nigeria’s economic outlook in its April 2025 World Economic Outlook report.
In a statement by the chamber captioned: “Beyond the Forecast: Resetting Nigeria’s Economic Compass,” Almona urged the Federal Government to prioritise a better-managed and more consistent fiscal policy environment.
Almona stressed the need for policies that reduce public debt and build buffers to manage increased defence spending and other fiscal challenges.
She added that the government must address potential trade-related shocks that could affect short-term economic stability.
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With falling crude oil prices, Almona advised stricter measures to cut governance costs and adjust budgetary expectations accordingly.
“With crude oil revenue under attack from falling prices, the government should get stricter with cutting the cost of governance within adjusted budget assumptions that reflect current realities.”
Presently, the crude oil is selling below government’s projected $75 per barrel in the country’s 2025 budget.
The LCCI also demanded drastic actions that would reduce the value and cost of Nigeria’s public borrowing, saying the country’s depreciating exchange rates paint a picture of a precarious macroeconomic landscape.
“In a scenario of projected global public debt reaching 117 per cent of GDP by 2027 (the highest level since World War II), Nigeria’s current debt level is close to attaining this projection if nothing drastic is done to reduce the value and cost of borrowing within the short term,” LCCI argued.
It added that in the face of fragile economic conditions in Nigeria, the country must prioritise a better-managed fiscal policy environment that drives public debt reduction, creating bigger buffers to accommodate the likely increase in defence spending pressures and trade-related shocks to the economy in the short term.
