OPS lays down economic demands on president elect, Buhari

• Plug economic loopholes
• Ensure acceleration of reforms on oil and gas
• Boost investment in critical infrastructure
• Tackle high cost of doing business

The private sector, comprising manufacturers and leaders of chambers of commerce, has set a new economic agenda for Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president-elect, charging him to plug several loopholes and diversify the economy away from oil.

According to the business community, Buhari’s administration must tackle the high cost of doing business in the economy and the low productivity attributed to macroeconomic, institutional and structural factors.

Business says the incoming government must not rush to set aside the policies of its predecessor, but block all fiscal leakages and waste in government, especially,the petroleum products subsidy.

They also urge the incoming Buhari administration to immediately review the activities of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta that superintended over the daily huge revenue loss due to oil theft.
“ The incoming administration must ensure a level playing field for all investors across all sectors with regard to import tariffs, funding opportunities and tax incentives,” said Remi Bello, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“There is also the need to prioritise government expenditure to boost investments in critical infrastructure. The challenge of high cost of governance, collapse of the rail system, poor power supply also demand urgent attention,” Bello added.

The private sector had been vociferous on the activities of key regulatory agencies, such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), among others.

Issues such as multiple inspection, taxation and vindictiveness characterised 2014, according to those who spoke to BusinessDay last year.

Bello said the performance of these institutions whose activities impact on the private sector should be audited, to ensure that they deliver the desired value to the private sector and economy at large.
He urged Buhari to ensure acceleration of reforms in the oil and gas sector, to attract more private investments in the upstream and downstream segments of the sector.

“This would save the economy the current huge foreign exchange used for importation of petroleum products,” he further said.

Nigeria launched the National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) February 2014. The aim of the plan was to diversify the economy away from oil, create jobs and boost export to earn more foreign exchange.

It was a comprehensive plan targeted at stimulating the industrial sector comprising manufacturing, agriculture value chain, solid minerals, metals, iron and steel, among others.

Like many past administrations, manufacturers said the incoming administration should not be in a rush to set aside the programme, but should concentrate on its implementation to the letter.

“There is the need to sustain the NIRP and other key industrial initiatives of the Jonathan administration,” Tunde Oyelola, chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Group (MANEP) told Real Sector Watch in a telephone chat.

“Continuity of good programmes is often good for the economy. So rather than reversal, I think he should think of improving upon it in areas he feels are not in line with his vision,” Oyelola summed.