The Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ABUCCIMA) says it is excited at the sudden turnaround of economic activities after a pre-election lull.
It said it is thrilled by the good signs on the capital market and the exchange rate of the naira after the presidential and parliamentary polls.
Jude Igwe, the vice president, media, ABUCCIMA, stated that the private sector has been concerned with the negative trends that have persisted for the past couple of weeks leading to the election.
“The severe tension generated by the manner of campaign that was carried on by some politicians put a lot of apprehension on the minds of many investors in the Nigerian equities that the journey was more on one-way, sell off and take your cash”, he stated.
He maintained that the business community is now relieved and the cash is coming out again to the market, noting that the demands on equities have increased up to about N12 trillion as well as positive earnings on the portfolios.
“The upsurge is very heart-warming. We believe that since the barometer for measuring the economy is the capital market, investors, both local and foreign, should not be in doubt that life has returned to the system once again”, he said.
He stated further that the business community is, therefore, looking forward to the faithful implementation of the economic policies promised by the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, and “we are confident that with his pedigree as a disciplinarian, the economy will be run with discipline, leaving no room for waste.
“We are looking forward to seeing a strong team made up of serious minded and patriotic individuals that will bring not only their wealth of experience but also their love for the country into play.”
The private sector would like to see in the team, he said, some practical entrepreneurs mixed with academics and technocrats so that their experiences in those areas will be brought to the table.
“We would not like to see politicians who do not possess second addresses to manage our economy so that we do not witness a scenario where the goal of the managers is to sustain themselves in their positions and not to sustain the system that guarantees their positions”, Igwe said.
On the exchange rate of the naira, the chamber is also very pleased on the appreciation recorded against some major international currencies at the official and black market ends of the foreign exchange market.
The indication that the naira appreciated against the euro and the British pound is interesting even though it remained firm against the dollar by the close of the week, he said.
