Following the disruptions in the business environment caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed by the government to contain its spread, business associations and employers in the country have asked for stimulus packages that could help to minimise the shocks and reduce the degree of job loss.
The Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and some state chapters of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria told Sunday PUNCH in different interviews.
The Director-General, NACCIMA, Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, said, “We are also in support of the call for tax deferment, moratorium on loan payments among others to help keep private sectors from going under completely. But to prevent and discourage sacking of workers, consideration should also be given to what has been described as Pay-Check Protection Programme and Job Security Programme for the private sector.”
Also, the Director-General, LCCI, Dr Muda Yusuf, said retaining the pre-coronavirus workforce would be very difficult for most businesses, adding that the current shocks to businesses were severe and devastating.
He added, “The government could provide some palliatives and stimulus like tax reliefs and concessions; tariff concessions for some critical sectors; review of regulatory fees and charges; moratorium and interest concessions on commercial bank loans; and concessions on workers’ PAYE by states to boost consumer demand. These could provide some succour and reduce the risk of job losses.”
He said though government currently has limited fiscal space to offer stimulus, he hoped the crisis would throw up new opportunities.
The DG, NECA, Mr Timothy Olawale, also said, “Government should give more support in the form of a Job Retention Scheme that would enable employers to pay part of employees’ salaries while government pays the other part.”
The Chairman of Rivers State chapter of MAN, Senator Adawari Pepple, said, “Government should consider doing what is happening in other climes by giving manufacturers grants to take care of the wages of their employees.”
Also, the Chairman of MAN in Kwara and Kogi states, Alhaji Kamaldeen Yusuph, said COVID-19 had caused incalculable damages to manufacturers in the two states. He said what manufacturers really need is a dedicated intervention and expansion fund with not more than five per cent interest.
He added, “If we are able to expand our manufacturing bade, then we can increase our output and we can take more Nigerians into our employment and then our Gross Domestic Product can go up.
Also, the National Public Relations Officer, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Fortune Obi, noted that foreign companies were among the biggest operators in the oil and gas sector and that government could give them some form of tax relief within this period.
He added, “There could be some moratorium on loans collected by some of these oil companies to enable them keep workers. There are limits to palliatives which the Federal Government can give them, this is why tax havens can help out and make them retain workers.”
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, had in his address on Workers’ Day noted that the advent of the pandemic had placed additional burden on businesses and put thousands of workers under the threat of job losses.
