Regulatory high-handedness choking enterprises – NECA

Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) said on Monday that a regime of regulatory high-handedness was snuffing life out of enterprises, and the Federal Government needed to watch the trends before more harm was done to the economy.

Olusegun Oshinowo, director-general of the body, which is acknowledged generally as the ‘voice of business,’ speaking on some recent developments in the economy, warned that the activities of some regulatory agencies of the government were putting businesses at risk.

“Recent onslaught by some regulatory agencies of government against organised businesses is not only capable of crippling existing investments but could also serve as disincentive to government’s drive for foreign investments, said Oshinowo.

According to him, some of the recent disturbing trends included the heavy punitive charge of N1.04 trillion imposed on MTN Nigeria by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for failure to deactivate over 5 million of its unregistered subscribers, which had led to the loss of about a fifth of the company’s shares within three weeks of the pronouncement.

“Another was the slamming of an ‘administrative charge’ of N1 billion on Guinness Nigeria Plc by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for alleged violation of NAFDAC rules, regulations and enactments over a long period of time, among others,” he said.

While NECA appreciates the essence of the roles of regulators and would also not support unfair practices by business operators, it is however averse to a heavy-handedness by way of sanctions that could snuff life out of the businesses, he said.

Oshinowo advised “in the course of performing their lawful duties, regulatory agencies must avoid sending wrong signals to the business community and the general public that its activities are pecuniary driven. While national interest is paramount, it must be balanced with the need to ensure the survival of the goose that lays the golden.”