The Presidential candidate of Labour Party, His Excellency, Peter Obi, has attributed the prevailing economic challenges in Nigeria to leadership flaws, noting that with the right leadership in place, the challenges will be surmounted.
Obi stated this while fielding questions from members of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA). The presidential hopeful was a guest at the third quarter council meeting of the Association held this week in Lagos where he had an interactive session with members.
The Association also confirmed that presidential hopefuls of other political parties will play guest to its meetings going forward to tell Nigerian business community how they will resuscitate the ravaged economy.
NACCIMA held its 3rd Quarter Council meeting on 17th August 2022 at the LCCI Conference and Exhibition Centre, Lagos.
On the sidelines of the Council meeting, the Association held an interactive session with the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, His Excellency, Peter Obi, who stated his intention to use the opportunity to acquaint himself with the challenges that business operators are facing which militate against the growth of the Nigerian economy.
According to a statement by NACCIMA Secretariat, during the interactive session, the National President of NACCIMA, Ide John Udeagbala, remarked that the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) is an Association of business people which focuses on advocacy, trade promotion and business development. The Association is also saddled with the responsibility to inform government on the effect of its policies on the private sector and to ensure that government continues to improve the business environment to ensure an ease of doing business.
The NACCIMA chief also stated that the objective of the interactive session was to ensure that the views and concerns of the Association find its way into the political sphere, especially during this electioneering year.
In emphasizing the non-political nature of NACCIMA as the umbrella body of all the Chambers of Commerce across Nigeria, Udeagbala noted that the Association is making efforts to ensure similar interactive sessions with the flag bearers of every political party.
During the question and answer session held after the initial remarks, members of NACCIMA asked questions on economic issues that affect businesses. The questions centred on various issues such as insecurity, exchange rate management, port congestion, power sector reform, youth unemployment, ASUU strike, agriculture, mass emigration and brain drain, among others.
While proffering potential solutions to the challenges to the economy raised by the questions asked, Obi noted that most of the challenges are due to human factor, which can be solved with the right leadership.
