The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has charged the Federal Government to look beyond oil revenues by building investors’ confidence and enhancing the nation’s forex earnings through non-oil exports.
The chamber, in a statement signed by its Director General, Dr Chinyere Almona, at the weekend, in reaction to the proposed 2024 budget, also stressed the need for government to invest more in export infrastructure, through automation and implementation of critical port reforms to reduce the bottlenecks usually associated with the nation’s export logistics and processes.
Stressing the need for the Federal Government to improve its budget performance in terms of capital expenditure in 2024, the chamber described the performance of the capital expenditure over the years as very low, relative to the recurrent expenditure.
“Particular attention must be paid to investing more in transport infrastructure in order to mitigate the high cost of fuel and resolve the many logistical challenges that have impacted the movement of goods across the nation.
“In addressing the most significant components of human capital development, we urge governments at all levels to be committed to significantly improving budget implementation in strategic sectors of the economy, including agriculture, education, health, infrastructure and security.
“Efforts must be made to scale up revenue collection by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), through consistent tax administrative measures, digitalisation and policy reforms,” the chamber stated.
It, however, commended the Federal Government on the proposed 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion ($33.4 billion), the biggest in the country’s history, especially on its strong focus on defence, internal security and job creation.
“It is commendable to note that the strategic objective of the expenditure policy is expected to tackle the macro-economic stability, investment environment optimisation, human capital development, poverty reduction and social security,” the business advocacy group added.
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