Real sector needs friendly business environment to unleash potential–NACCIMA     

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) says the real sector requires better doing business environment to unleash its potential and support government’s diversification drive.

According to the association, a friendly business environment was a prerequisite for economic recovery,  sustainable growth and attraction of foreign investments.

NACCIMA, however, commended the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PECBE) for putting forward a plan to improve Nigeria’s operating environment, stressing theneed to consolidate on the achievement recorded within the 60 days Action Plan to make the economy more attractive to foreign investors and be able to catch up with other developing countries that had shown significant progress on the ease of doing business.

“Improving ease of doing business in Nigeria is a sure way to economic recovery and a way of ensuring the prosperity of the Nigerian nation,” Bassey Edem, outgone president of NACCIMA, said at the just concluded 57th annual general meeting held in Abeokuta.

Wasiu Babatunde Olaleye, president, Abeokuta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, said improvement of the doing business environment was a sure way of deepening economic growth.

“You will agree with me that doing business in Nigeria requires a lot of determination and resilience. The change in the Nigerian business climate is always unpredictable. To succeed as a business owner, you have to brace up for the agonising bottlenecks and unwholesome practices when interfacing with public officials, yet the situation is worsened by the intractable regime of multiple taxation,” Olaleye said.

The theme of the conference was, ‘Enhancing Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria – An Impetus to Economic Recovery and Sustainable Growth’. The event saw the emergence of the first female president of the association, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, former president of Odu’a Chambers of Commerce, past president of Ogun Council of Chambers of Commerce and founder of Abestone Microfinance Bank.

“Iyalode is a wonderful community leader and an icon, who has distinguished herself in the last 30 years in running her famous educational institutions, Alaba Lawson Nursery and Primary School, Alaba Lawson Royal College and Alaba Lawson School of Advanced Studies. She has succeeded where others have failed and she  still continues to be a trail blazer in this sector,” said Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State governor, at the event.

In her acceptance speech, Alaba Lawson promised to empower women and youths while enhancing Nigeria’s regional trade by repackaging its trade missions to tend towards attracting foreign investments.

“We need to bring back our age long mandate as the voice of the Nigerian business by consciously influencing government policies and businesses,” she said.

ODINAKA ANUDU