Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has commended the federal government on its commitment to power projects, including the Siemens Energy initiative.
The Chamber, in its reaction to President Bola Tinubu’s New Year Speech, signed by its Director General, Dr. Chinyere Almona, on Monday also lauded the present administration on its efforts at enhancing the reliability of transmission lines.
It is described as positive, the step taking towards addressing the critical issue of electricity supply, which, it noted, aligns with its aspirations for a robust and diversified economy.
The representative of the business community however stressed the urgent need for the federal government to address the structure of the power sector, by bringing private sector investment into the transmission.
This, it added, would ensure adequate technical and financial capacity for a well-functioning sector to power economic growth.
“The Chamber carefully reviewed the President’s speech as he highlighted vital aspects of his administration’s achievements and challenges faced and outlined plans to address these critical concerns.
“The LCCI has identified positive and concerning elements from the address to foster constructive dialogue and provide a comprehensive analysis.
“The Government needs to consider bringing private sector investment into the transmission segment of the power sector. This would ensure adequate technical and financial capacity for a well-functioning sector to power economic growth,” it stated.
The business advocacy body noted that while the government’s focus on cultivating farmlands to grow staple crops and boost food security, aligns with the need to ensure constant food supply, security, and affordability for citizens, it however cautioned that the productivity of the farmlands and the effectiveness of investments in food production are subject to adequate security measures.
” Investment in agriculture has a limited chance of success as long as the government fails to deal with the security issues,” it stated.
The Chamber therefore called on the government to consider fast-tracking the movement of the police from the Exclusive list to the Concurrent list to be legislated upon by the Federal and State Governments.
This, it argued, would guarantee effective policing of the nooks and crannies of the society, particularly the farmlands.
It also described the announcement of a new national living wage as a positive step towards ensuring the well-being of workers and promoting inclusive economic growth.
The body also expressed delight at the assurance of the federal government to simplify fiscal and tax policies,which it argued would go a long way in removing obstacles hindering business competitiveness.
On the issue of fuel subsidy removal, the body noted that while such action had become imperative, government.must develop a plan, aimed at managing its impact on individuals, families, and businesses.
It added that though President Bola Tinubu acknowledged the challenges of high inflation (above 28%) and an unacceptable under-employment rate on the country, he however, did not come up with specific strategies to address these issues, thereby leaving room for concerns about the impact on citizens.
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