Address power, insecurity, corruption, LCCI tells FG
The Lagos Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, on Tuesday in Lagos, listed inadequate power
supply, insecurity and corruption as the major challenges that must be
tackled urgently if President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was to
achieve any meaningful economic development.
At its second quarterly
press briefing on the economy, the President, LCCI, Mr. Goodie Ibru,
said the achievement of the country’s socio-economic and investment
attraction aspirations and pursuits would not be achieved unless the
three major challenges were addressed.
According to him, apart
from stagnating real meaningful development, the three problems have
frustrated businesses and scared investors, thus stifling investor
confidence in the economy.
Although he acknowledged
the fact that a reform process was in place, especially in the power
sector, the results had been at variance with people’s expectations.
Ibru said, “Although
there is a reform, the people need to see the result to give confidence
to investors. The security situation in the country has become a major
challenge for investors. It is already taking its toll on the economy in
the areas of investment, manufacturing and productive processes, sales
and other areas of business operations.
“Corruption in all
facets of the nation has done much damage to business integrity and that
of the nation, thus eroding investor confidence in the economy. In the
next six months, we will not want to be lamenting the failures in the
economy. Rather, if concrete and focused actions are taken by the
government on these three major challenges, then the economy and the
current administration will have much to show in terms of concrete
development.”
He said the expectation
of the group and the private sector was that urgent actions would be
targeted at addressing the challenges in the next six months, if the
transformation agenda of the current administration was to be achieved.
Besides, Ibru said the
failure of the Federal Government to achieve success in the three areas
had led to social unrest and economic destabilisation, with the measures
put in place by the government not having much impact or achieving real
development in the economy.
