Economy: No govt can ignore employers — Shettima
Assures FG committed to reducing bottlenecks in doing business
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA—THE Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, said yesterday the Federal Government must keep engagement with the business sector openly.
According to him, any government that ignores employers cannot fully understand the economy.
Consequently, he said the federal government remained committed to reducing bottlenecks and digitising government processes, so that reforms announced in Abuja were experienced by businesses in Lagos, Kano, Aba and every part of the country without delay.
Speaking at the 5th Nigerian Employers’ Summit in Abuja, the vice president, who was represented by former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and Special Adviser to the President on General Duties, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, said the summit was timely because Nigeria stood at a decisive moment.
“It is honest because reform demands difficult conversations about production costs, access to credit, exchange rates, taxation and investment
“It is necessary because the private sector cannot compete on sentiment. It competes on functional infrastructure, predictable policies, fair taxation and reliable energy,’’ he said.
Commending President Bola Tinubu for the hard decisions he had taken, Senator Kashim said the economies flourishing today did not stumble into prosperity, adding that they summoned the foresight to imagine a different future and the courage to implement the reforms that brought that future within reach.
“Foresight without courage produces fine speeches and empty outcomes. Courage without foresight produces motion without progress. What a nation requires is the marriage of both: the vision to see what must change and the resolve to change it, even when the path is steep. That is the burden of responsible leadership and the spirit in which I address you this morning,’’ Shettima said.
While welcoming participants to the 5th Nigerian Employers’ Summit, a leading private sector platform for conversations on enterprise sustainability, job creation, placement facilitation and inclusive growth, the vice president said: “For nearly seven decades, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, has remained a credible voice of employers, building bridges between government, labour, development partners and the business community. I commend NECA for sustaining this important tradition.”
“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, the economy carried deep structural burdens. Fuel subsidy had become fiscally unsustainable. The foreign exchange market was fragmented, government revenue was weak and investor confidence required rebuilding.
“The easy option at that time was to postpone difficult decisions. But leadership is tested when the right decision is also the difficult one.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda was designed to confront these realities. We cannot build prosperity on distortions, attract investment when foreign exchange remains uncertain, or create jobs when enterprises are suffocated by multiple taxation, poor logistics and insecurity.
“The reforms have been difficult, but their purpose is to correct the foundations so that growth becomes real, durable and inclusive. There is no doubt that restoring macroeconomic stability was our first task because a stable economy is the first infrastructure of business. Before roads, railways and ports, businesses need confidence to plan and invest.”
“This is why removing the fuel subsidy and reforming the foreign exchange market remain central to our reforms. The subsidy crowded out investment while encouraging inefficiency and rent-seeking. The foreign exchange reforms are delivering a more transparent and market-reflective system.
“Our fiscal and tax reforms follow the same logic. Businesses do not reject taxation. They reject multiple taxation, harassment and systems that punish compliance while rewarding informality.
“Our agenda reduces the number of taxes, harmonises administration, protects the vulnerable, supports small businesses and encourages compliance by lowering rates while widening the tax base needed to fund infrastructure.
“The private sector asks only that government should not make doing business unnecessarily difficult. Every delayed approval and every unclear regulation imposes additional costs on enterprise.”
“That is why we remain committed to reducing bottlenecks and digitising government processes so that reforms announced in Abuja are experienced by businesses in Lagos, Kano, Aba and every part of the country without delay.”
In his welcome address, the Director-General of NECA, Mr. Adewale Oyerinde, said five years after the summit was established, it had consistently produced practical policy recommendations that successive governments had found useful.
“From the inaugural edition at Transcorp Hilton Abuja to this fifth edition at Abuja Continental Hotel, the summit has shaped national conversations and strengthened confidence between government and the organised private sector,” he said.
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