LCCI: Nigeria Cannot Achieve Mass Employment, Broad-based Prosperity Without Strong Manufacturing, Industrial Base

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's pledge to revitalize Nigeria's manufacturing and industrial sectors, asserting that the nation cannot attain widespread employment and prosperity without such a robust economic foundation. In response to Tinubu's nationwide address marking the country's 66th independence anniversary, the chamber lauded the president's commitment to fostering a competitive business environment conducive to enterprise growth.

Leye Kupoluyi, the president of the LCCI, emphasized the urgency of addressing energy costs, enhancing electricity reliability, accelerating gas-to-industry projects, and expanding affordable financing for manufacturers. He stressed that Nigeria must swiftly implement these measures to achieve mass employment and broad-based prosperity.

Kupoluyi argued that a thriving manufacturing sector can simultaneously tackle multiple challenges, including employment generation, productivity enhancement, import substitution, export diversification, technology transfer, and government revenue generation. He urged the federal government to reduce industrial energy costs, improve infrastructure in industrial clusters, and provide better access to working capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The LCCI president called for a focus on reducing the cost of doing business, expanding productive capacity, and creating an environment where investment decisions can be made with greater confidence. He emphasized that lowering the high cost of doing business is the most critical economic challenge facing Nigerian businesses today.

Kupoluyi maintained that businesses need assurance of sustained reductions in the prices of essential goods, such as food, transport, and energy, along with an increase in GDP growth that yields productive employment and expands household incomes.