Power, policy consistency, EEG top private sector demand on Buhari

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

The manufacturers said that Buhari’s administration must tackle the high cost of doing business in the economy, as well as low productivity attributed to macroeconomic, institutional and structural factors.

They said that the incoming government must not rush to set aside the policies of its predecessor, but should rather block all fiscal leakages and wastes in government, especially petroleum products subsidy, and immediately review the activities of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta that superintends over daily huge revenue losses due to oil theft.

Remi Bello, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said , “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.”

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

The private sector has been vociferous on the activities of key regulatory agencies such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Consumer Protection Agency, 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.

Bello said the performances of these institutions whose activities impacted 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 both the upstream and downstream segments. “This would save the economy the current huge foreign exchange used for importation of petroleum products,” he explained.

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.

Manufacturers said the incoming administration should not be in a rush to set aside the programmes of the past administrations, but should concentrate on their 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 told Real Sector Watch in a telephone chat.

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