The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (NACCIMA) has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that the views and concerns of the association as well as other members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) find their way into the political sphere, especially during this electioneering year.
NACCIMA National President Ide John Udeagbala made this known during an interactive session with the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), His Excellency, Peter Obi.
The interactive session was on the sidelines of NACCIMA’s 3rd Quarter Council meeting held at the LCCI Conference and Exhibition Centre, Lagos, August 17, 2022.
The LP flag bearer used the opportunity of the interactive session to acquaint himself with the challenges that business operators are facing which militate against the growth of the economy.
During the session, Udeagbala, remarked that NACCIMA is an association of business people which focuses on advocacy, trade promotion and business development.
The Association, he added, is also saddled with the responsibility to inform the government on the effects of its policies on the private sector and to ensure that the government continues to improve the business environment to ensure an ease of doing business.
Udeagbala stated that the objective of the interactive session was “To ensure that the views and concerns of the Association find their way into the political sphere, especially during this electioneering year.”
He, however, emphasized the non-political nature of NACCIMA as the umbrella body of all the Chambers of Commerce across Nigeria. He also stated that the Association was making efforts to ensure similar interactive sessions with the flag bearers of every political party.
A question-and-answer session was held after these initial remarks, where members posed different questions on economic issues as they affect businesses.
The questions centered around various issues such as insecurity, exchange rate management, port congestion, power sector reform, youth unemployment, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, agriculture, mass emigration / brain drain, and so on.
Mr. Obi, while proffering potential solutions to the challenges to the economy raised by the questions asked, concluded that most of these challenges were due to the human factor, which, according to him, can be solved with the right leadership.
