The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the federal government to tackle challenges confronting the ease of doing business in the country.
The Director General of the Chamber, Mr. Muda Yusuf, while speaking with journalists in Lagos last week said those challenges facing local enterprises in the country have negatively affected their performance over time.
He explained that high excise duties on locally-produced goods and challenges of exporting made-in-Nigeria products, as well as the inaccessibility of the Lagos ports due to poor roads network, have challenged the country’s business environment in the country and eroded their capacity to compete.
Meanwhile, the LCCI, in a report titled, ‘Infrastructure Deficit in Nigeria: The Way Forward, decried the challenges of exporting made-in-Nigeria products to other ECOWAS countries and poor investment climate.
The report acknowledged that infrastructure plays critical role in promoting economic growth, improving standards of living, poverty reduction and competitiveness, while also contributing to environmental sustainability.
It, however, regretted that in spite of its overarching importance to Nigeria’s economic development, it was evident that there was a huge infrastructure gap in Nigeria, when viewed against the backdrop of lack of competitiveness of the local businesses.
According to the Chamber, the situation has “hindered the country’s desire to exploit its rich human and natural resources to stimulate growth and development.”
It said, “For in instance, in spite of the country’s huge oil and gas and hydro resources, Nigeria cannot generate electricity to drive its development. Indeed, the country’s infrastructure deficit has stymied the economic growth,” adding that the challenges of the absence of critical infrastructure has continued to impact negatively on the cost of doing business, investment and capital inflow into the country.
It noted that the World Economic Forum had in its 2017-18 competitive index ranked Nigeria’s infrastructure low (131 out of 138 countries), while the 2017 WEF Executive Opinion Survey, noted that poor supply of infrastructure is one of the biggest constraints to doing business in Nigeria.
The LCCI also noted that, according to the FDC Monthly Economic ( a publication of Financial Derivatives Company) report for February 2018 edition, Nigeria requires over $15 billion (about N4.59 trillion at N306 to per dollar) worth of investments in infrastructure annually for 15 years in order to adequately develop its infrastructure nationwide.
