Taiwo Hassan 
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has revealed that the recent reports on economic activities in the last quarter have presented real scenario in the context of the reality Nigerians face.
Beyond the statistics, the chamber pointed out that the country’s economy needed a sustained boost in production to support the relevant fundamentals in the economy.
Director-General of LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, who made this known in a press release in Lagos, stated that in the last quarter, the GDP growth recorded was driven by activities in the services sector, which grew by 5.19 per cent and contributed 53.58 per cent, especially the banking and ICT sectors.
According to her, “a major concern is the burden of a constrained real economy and a tense business environment that further weakens the manufacturing and agriculture sectors.
“We reiterate our recommendation that targeted fiscal interventions to support manufacturers and farmers are critical at this point. “The banking sector has been unable to fulfill its financial intermediation obligations to the private sector due to inherent economic risks.
“With the very high interest rate, an elevated inflation rate, high energy costs, insecurity, and forex illiquidity for imported raw materials, the operating environment is quite unbearable for businesses.”
Almona continued: “In our quest to achieve inclusive growth that creates jobs, we need to sustain targeted interventions like import waivers, tax exemptions, and efforts toward achieving zero fuel importation.
“We have consistently advocated and still wish to urge the government to consider a fixed import duty exchange rate to allow for better business planning by importers.
“Every effort is required to resolve all uncertainties and controversies in the oil and gas sector to improve oil production levels. “Without an increase in economy-wide production, our fundamentals may remain weak, irrespective of the dimensions of our economic indicators.
“Beyond rate hikes, we need to invest more in infrastructure, boost oil production to supply enough crude to local refineries and support the production base of the economy through cost-saving interventions.”
The LCCI DG noted that the insecurity factor has remained a dominant negative variable in explaining the harsh economic conditions.
According to her, “with the increase in revenue generation, saved funds from subsidy removal, and the move towards a zero-fuel import era, we expect massive investment in power, transportation, security, and agricultural infrastructure to boost food production.
“With these investments must come an enabling business environment driven by policy consistency, the right regulatory frameworks, and the will to drive reforms to fruitful conclusions.”
