By Rukayat Moisemhe
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has tasked the Federal Government on consistent policies and reforms to achieve the nation’s one trillion dollar economy goals.
The LCCI Director-General, Dr Chinyere Almona, made the call on Thursday in Lagos, in reaction to President Bola Tinubu’s new year speech that the President had highlighted critical themes relevant to achieving the nation’s economic goals.
He pledged to make the country more relevant in the global economy through more collaborations with international community and improve the business environment for the private sector to thrive in 2025.
Almona, however, noted that the address underscored both opportunities and challenges as the country embarked on the journey to achieving the ambitious one trillion-dollar economy goal.
She said the chamber in 2025 expect government’s reforms to deliver on easing the high rate of inflation, high interest rates on businesses, business shutdowns, and job losses.
She added that the reforms must also address persistent challenges facing power supply, national security, and food production in the country.
Almona noted that the National Credit Guarantee Company announcement by the President represented a critical step toward unlocking access to credit, particularly for women, youth, and small-scale enterprises.
She said the scheme, if implemented effectively and efficiently, could boost demand for goods from agro-producers and industries; improving capacity utilisation of manufacturers and job creation.
Almona, however, emphasised the need for swift operationalisation and a transparent framework to avoid bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“The President’s desire to work more collaboratively with the international community is a good idea.
“However, for Nigeria to really explore inherent opportunities in international relations, we must do more to create an enabling business environment attractive enough to boost our Foreign Direct Investments this year.
“All our diplomatic efforts should be geared towards boosting foreign trade, especially when we can boost our non-oil exports to the levels of recording trade surpluses in 2025,” she said.
Almona also called for critical investments in the telecommunications sector to boost the digital transformation agenda of government.
Similarly, she said, the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative required huge investment in infrastructure.
“Both digital transformation and energy transition are quite critical to achieving the level of industrialisation required to power a one trillion economy,” she said.
The LCCI D-G said the President’s focus on ethical citizenship and shared values underscored the role of social cohesion in nation-building.
She said the upcoming National Values Charter and Youth Confab were commendable efforts to galvanize citizens and foster patriotism.
Almona stated that for the business community, a stable and cooperative societal framework was foundational for sustained economic activity.
“Beyond the show of commitment to a charter of shared values, we believe that the rule of law remains the most important guarantee of human rights protection and the best template for justice and fairness in a democratic state.
“Let us do all within our means and power to institute a culture of avoiding controversies and uncertainties by charting a sure path for our policies, regulations, and budget implementation. “The budget assumptions are ambitious but achievable if we consistently drive our economic agenda towards our set goals,” she said.
