The Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) has advocated devolution of economic and political power by the Federal Government to zones and states to facilitate economic recovery.
The President of ECCIMA, Ugochukwu Chime, made the call when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on the need for the Federal Government to tackle the recovery of the economic from all fronts.
“In our efforts to diversify and make our economy to be competitive, there is great need for the Federal Government to remove certain exclusivity it has on some key areas and sectors.
“Channel such to the concurrent list, where states can be empowered to enrich their economic potentials,’’ Chime said.
According to him, the solid mineral sector, we believe will activate the economy of almost all the states in Nigeria as there is no state in Nigeria that is not endowed with one mineral or the other.
He remained the Federal Government about statement of the Minister of Solid Minerals in January 2016 that states would start taking part in solid mineral policy input and exploitation.
“We look forward to full implementation of this promise,’’ he said.
Chime, however, commended the Federal Government for its pragmatic Medium Term Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (MTRGP 2017-2020), which was being finalised to address the current economic challenges and restore growth.
“Even with this lauded plan; there is a need to involve the component states and zones to join and participate actively in the overall economic recovery plan,’’ he added.
