NECA, LCCI Commends FG’s Eight-points Agenda

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) have commended the federal government’s 8-point Agenda.

The 8-point agenda are food security, ending poverty, economic growth, and job creation. Others are improving access to capital, particularly consumer credit, inclusivity in all its dimensions, improving security, improving the playing field on which people and particularly companies operate, the rule of law, and fighting corruption.  

The Director-General of NECA, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, stated that the 8-point Agenda that was presented yesterday by the government would be fundamental to the revival of the economy.

Oyerinde said that “while the Agenda were succinct and addresses the core issues that the nation currently faces, we urge that strong coordination efforts should be put in place to avoid the agenda being caught up in inter-ministerial misalignments and narrow implementation as witnessed in past administrations”

He averred that key success factors for the 8-point agenda will be how well the government co-ordinate the activities of the ministries to complement each other rather than the numerous contradictions we witnessed in the past.

He also harped on the importance of the level of engagement with critical stakeholders, including the Organised Private Sector and the formulation of a performance tracking metrics to assess the performance of each Ministry, Department and Agencies.

“It is instructive to note that about 60 per cent of the 8-point agenda will need the critical input of the Private sector, thus, it will be in the interest of the government to give due attention to the survival of the private sector in order for the 8-point agenda to become a reality. While the challenges that we currently face is multi-dimensional, it is imperative to apply a multi-dimensional approach to resolving them”

In its own statement, the Director General of the LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 8-point agenda but added that “Nigerians, both corporations and individuals, are not particularly inclined to settle for poor results considering the sacrifices.”

Almona said that “he LCCI is of the view that if these highlighted policy thrusts of the administration are well articulated and implemented, they are certain to strongly impact the nation’s socio-economic landscape.

“Specifically, the administration’s target of creating 50 million jobs should go beyond a policy statement, as implementation is critical to the economy. The most sustainable approach to job creation is to support production and create an enabling business environment for the private sector. A thriving private sector will continue to create jobs for the foreseeable future.”

She added that all ministries should clearly articulate the priority areas and further divide them into strategic initiatives with clear timelines and responsibilities for performance, monitoring and evaluation.

The chamber also anticipated the development of critical metrics with special emphasis on impact, growth and job creation, poverty reduction and investment attraction.

“We look forward to a comprehensive policy document by sector, which will demonstrate the government’s clarity of vision, courage, and creativity in achieving the admirable socio-economic agenda.

“The chamber recommends the implementation of responsive fiscal and monetary policy measures in order to ensure/ promote macroeconomic stability with a particular focus on effectively managing inflation, addressing the challenge of high interest rates and foreign exchange shortages.

“The LCCI also anticipates that the government would focus its policy efforts on sectors with the potential of generating high employment,” she said.