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By Merit Ibe
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has observed that the 2.7 percent population growth estimate by the World Bank for Nigeria was an indication that the economy is not growing fast enough to create new opportunities for its rapidly-growing population.
The Chamber made the remark at the 3rd quarterly press briefing on state of the economy Tuesday, where itsPresident, Toko Mabogunje, noted that achieving key development outcomes such as job creation and poverty reduction will always remain elusive in the light of a fragile recovery.
She emphasised the need for policymakers to pursue critical reforms to bolster confidence in the economy, accelerate post-pandemic recovery and alleviate poverty.
“The IMF and World Bank, are projecting growth figures of 2.5 percent and 1.8 percent respectively on the assumption of stronger commodity prices, transition to market-reflective exchange rate system, vaccination progress, and gradual implementation of reforms in the oil sector.”
While these factors appear somewhat realistic, she opined that the Chamber believes rising insecurity, lingering forex illiquidity, low vaccination rate and lack of will to follow through critical reforms constitute major downside risks to the country’s growth outlook.
The LCCI boss recommended that both fiscal and monetary policymakers should be well-coordinated in promoting growth-enhancing and confidence-building policies that would encourage private and foreign capital inflows into the economy.
To consolidate CBN adoption of the NAFEX rate as the official rate in the gradual transition to a unified exchange rate system, the Chamber posited that there was need for the CBN to scale up its intervention efforts and roll-out more friendly supply-side policies to boost liquidity in the market.
This she noted would help bolster investor’ confidence and attract foreign investment inflows into the economy.
She said deliberate efforts towards making the business environment more conducive for small businesses MSMEs and large corporates at national, subnational and local government levels was imperative, adding that this could be achieved by addressing the structural bottlenecks and regulatory constraints contributing to high cost of doing business.
“A supportive and conducive investment environment is critical in facilitating private sector involvement in economic recovery process.”
She added: “Deepening deregulation efforts in the downstream oil industry, clarity in government’s policy direction by ensuring consistency in economic policies, policy consistency is imperative for long-term investment planning, business projections holistic and dynamic review of the security architecture would address the seemingly worsening security situation in the country.”
The Lagos Chamber also noted with serious concerns the worsening security situation in the country.
According to the LCCI boss, it was scary that banditry attacks, abduction, herder–farmers conflicts, vandalism, and insurgency have become recurring incidences in the country.
“The impact of this crisis has crippled lots of private and public investments across the nations. Many households have lost their means of livelihoods. Many farmlands across the country have been destroyed with consequent impact on food production and security…”
