Organised Private Sector Sets Agenda For New Ministers

Stakeholders in the Organised Private Sector (OPS) have taken a cursory look at the recent cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Tinubu and listed their expectations from the new ministers.

They charged them to hit the ground running to reposition the nation’s economy and break the yoke of poverty, deprivation, insecurity, unemployment and inflation, among others.

LEADERSHIP Weekend sampled opinions of the experts in the business circle on what they expect in the various sectors amid the economic downturn and hardship faced by the citizens.

The director-general (DG), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Chinyere Almona, said “to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs), there were fundamental factors to consider in any economy.

“Currently, Nigeria ranks low in most of these parameters, and this is why, despite the many foreign trips, our economy has not been able to attract the required FDIs. Foreign investors are very knowledgeable about business environment conditions across the globe and this information direct their investment decisions.

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“They want to see a growing economy, stable prices, macroeconomic policy stability, and a business environment devoid of uncertainties around regulations, not given to controversies around regulators’ decisions that can adversely affect businesses.

“We must deal with problems such as insecurity, policy inconsistency, poor power supply, repatriation of proceeds, and cumbersome trade procedures. We must also improve on protecting investors’ interest, the sanctity of contracts, transparency in government service delivery, and licensing procedures.

“On Dr Jumoke Oduwole, the business community expects a lot from her considering that she has a good knowledge of the Nigerian business environment coming from the Buhari administration into the Tinubu era. During her tenure at the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) she led the team that improved Nigeria’s position in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Ranking.

“We see her as a thoroughbred professional having the requisite experience to excel in projecting the Nigerian economy to the world as a business ready country serious about dealing with all the issues inhibiting investment inflows.”

Also, the leadership of Organised Private Sector (OPS) challenged the new ministers to work towards the growth and development of the economy and the nation at large.

The director-general of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association of Nigeria (NECA), Mr Adewale-Smart Oyerinde, articulated his targets for the new ministers, noting that, “We believe that the new ministers have little options than to succeed.

The expectations from organised businesses and Nigerians in general are too high for them to fail. While we will continue to support and provide policy options, we expect the new team to fulfil some, if not all the expectations of organised businesses.”

Oyerinde said as the president has the prerogative to appoint and sack any of his appointees, the recent reshuffle was timely and necessary as Nigeria continues to grapple with multi-faceted challenges.

“We especially commend the appointment of Dr Jumoke Oduwole as the new minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the appointment of a substantive minister of Labour and Employment.”

Reiterating the expectation of the OPS, Oyerinde said, “The major concern of the OPSN is good governance and improved ease of doing business. Once the team can achieve these for the OPSN, the other issues are secondary.”