The Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE) has said that Nigeria could record a daily of N400 billion for the proposed nationwide protest, scheduled to be held on August 1st, 2024.
Muda Yusuf, the Chief Executive Officer at CPPE disclosed this in a statement issued to journalists. According to him, the proposed nationwide protests portend grave dangers for an economy which is already in a very fragile state.
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“The protests could inflict an estimated daily loss of N400 billion, if not properly managed. The consequences of such a huge loss for the country and the citizens would be very severe,” he said.
He noted a high risk of shutdowns and disruptions in major sectors of the economy including trade and commerce, manufacturing, entertainment, transportation, logistics, financial services, hospitality industry, agriculture, aviation, ICT, and construction sectors.
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This he said is in addition to risks to the lives and properties of innocent citizens and corporate bodies, adding that the safety of government assets was also at risk.
“We commend the Inspector General of the police for acknowledging the rights of the citizens to protest and offering to protect the genuine protesters.
“We plead with the organisers of the protests to cooperate with the police to make the planned protests peaceful and orderly. It is in the overall interest of all for this to happen. Peacefulness of a protest does not detract from the potency of its messaging.
“The protest organisers should not offer a platform for elements in the country who have criminal intentions and whose agenda is to inflict pains on innocent citizens and corporate organisations and destruction of public assets. We cannot fix a problem by promoting such negative tendencies,” he stated.
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Speaking on the country’s vulnerability to prolonged protests, Yusuf noted that over 90 per cent of employed Nigerians are in the informal sector, whose workers depend on daily income. He added that any disruption to their economic activities beyond 24 hours could snowball into major social unrest.
He however urged the government to expeditiously implement its economic stabilization plan to ease production costs and ultimately reduce inflationary pressures.
“Trade costs are still prohibitive and need to be drastically reduced across the board in a manner that would not undermine domestic production. High cargo clearing cost is a major factor driving inflation which needs to be fixed urgently.
“Revenue drive should be managed in a manner that does not impose additional pressures on citizens and corporate bodies. There is also an urgent need to prioritize fiscal frugality and transparency in public sector in all tiers and across all levels of government coupled with appropriate signaling and messaging that reflect current economic conditions. These are essential to earn the confidence of the generality of the people,” he added.
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