President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday called for patience and perseverance as his administration battles to fix the nation’s security and economic challenges
The President who noted that the journey to addressing the challenges is a long one that requires patience, understanding and perseverance, stated this when he received the leadership of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), led by its Director General, Timothy Olawale
The President urged the organised private sector to “continue to engage Government by providing honest and constructive feedback. Together, we can build a Nigeria that we will all be proud of.
“There is no doubt the implementation of such policies will not be hitch-free. As you have pointed out, there are challenges in some areas that need to be addressed. I want to assure you that we are looking into these and other matters to ensure we have a sustainable platform for businesses to succeed.
The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), while also speaking with State House Correspondents after the meeting , said “Nigeria firms must develop strong competitive capacity to enable them attract the benefits accruable from the Africa Free Trade Area agreement recently signed by President Buhari.
The NECA DG who described the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), agreement as laudable, also noted that there are lots of benefits inherent in it.
The NECA DG however warned that it was capable of endangering capital inflow into the country, adding that “before we start talking about benefits derivable from it, we must also talk of the likely damage it can do to an economy that is fragile like ours”
He noted that it now behoves on stakeholders and government to put all hands on deck to address the negative variables that will impact on the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses and industry.
“We don’t want a situation where our businesses are not competitive due to the disadvantaged environment they operate.
“Of course we are all familiar with the disadvantaged environment with regards to issue of agriculture among which is power and the issue of road network, that is transportation for goods and services and accessibility to the different business environment.
“What we are saying is that if all these issues are not addressed properly, to make our businesses competitive, definitely we are going to be at the receiving end, to the extent that our nation will become a dooming ground.
He expressed fears that some of the factories that are even struggling presently may end up folding up.
“Of course we know the history of the textile sector and that can be repleted in any sector and we don’t want us to get to that extent.
“That is why we are saying government should put mechanism in place to address these issues so that we can be competitive and so that we can take our rightful place and maximize the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), agreement.
“Basically, what we told the president is what we have repeated over and over again in the public domain, that rather than any increase in taxation because as it is, organized businesses are already being overburdened with all sorts of taxes and levies.
He disclosed that NECA calculated 105 different taxes and levies we are paying as we speak, which is cumbersome and burdensome.
“So, we had advised that rather than resort to any form of increase in taxation, what government should be looking at is putting mechanism in place to widen the tax net in such a way that almost 65 percent of non-compliant taxpayers are captured in the tax net. That way, more revenue will accrue into the coffers of the government.
“We specifically also voiced are concerned with the suggestion and proposal out there that Value Added Tax should be increased.
“We have advised government that if it comes to be, will reduce the purchasing power of Nigerians workers as well as the poor masses that the president as we know is working hard to improve their a lot.
“We are saying that if government must as a matter of an avoidable necessity increase VAT, it should target luxury goods as well as the extra affluence in the society, not the poor masses or consumer goods and services that are for the benefit of the masses.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
