Employers of labour under the auspices of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) say they expect to see President Muhammadu Buhari stay focus on policies to lift mass of impoverished Nigerians out of poverty as well as check ‘regulatory gangsterism’ ahead of his swearing for a second term of four years on May 29 this year.
President Buhari, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won a re-election bid in February 23 presidential election, as he polled 15, 191,847 votes to beat his major challenger, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 11,262,978 votes.
Timothy Olawale, the Director General of NECA while speaking in Lagos said although the employers’ body does not expect surprises judging from the president’s policy thrust in the last four years, it nevertheless expects that the administration will not deviate from key polices contained in the Economic Growth Recovery Plan (ERGP).
“Having followed keenly the thrust of President Buhari-led administration, we do not expect any deviation from the administration’s policies. Much surprise is not expected judging by the direction of the current administration since its inception, hence, we expect to see more of policy stability. “
According to NECA, there is the need for the government to sustain its commitment to the implementation of the Economic Growth Recovery Plan (ERGP).
Olawale noted that stability of different economic policies, focus on different social investment programmes such as the trader-moni, etc, which are deemed pro-poor and deepening of engagement with the private will help the government put the economy on growth path.
He added that infrastructure development must also be sustained, as employers expect to see the completion of major infrastructure projects across the country.
“We are also witnessing a steady progress in the export expansion grant, which supports exporters in the expansion of their businesses. We expect the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to step up the implementation of its mandate and the implementation of the Ease of Doing Business policy.
We, however, hope that the passage and implementation of the 2019 budget will be given due attention as we are already in the 3rd month of our fiscal year, not forgetting that several business decisions are tied to the passage of the budget”.
The DG, who expressed concerns of businesses as regard what he termed ‘worrisome trend’ in the first four years of the administration, reminded the president-elect of the need to check ‘regulatory gangstarism’ which reached a new height in the first four years of the administration.
“As the President was making efforts to ease the challenges of doing business in Nigeria, some regulatory agencies were stifling businesses, discouraging entrepreneurial propensity of small and medium scale entities and inadvertently creating the environment for job losses. While drawing the attention of the President to this anathema, he said “the President must ensure that this trend is brought to a stop. A collaborative engagement of the private sector and creation of an environment for it to thrive is the only panacea to the raging threat of unemployment in our nation”
Olawale said the Buhari-led administration has “another four years opportunity to reverse the negative trends and prognosis associated with the nation in the last four years.”
He noted that concerted efforts must be made to revive moribund industries, support struggling enterprises, create a responsible regulatory regime and focus on inclusive growth for the rapid development of our nation.
JOSHUA BASSEY
