LCCI urges govt. on incentivised investments to revive agric, manufacturing sectors
By Rukayat Moisemhe
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged government to incentivise investments in the agriculture, agro-processing and manufacturing sectors to reverse the continued weak growths in the sectors.
Mr Gabriel Idahosa, President, LCCI, gave the advice at the Chamber’s Quarterly State of the Economy news conference on Thursday in Lagos.
Idahosa emphasised the need to address factors contributing to the high cost of production, including high inflation, interest rate, volatile exchange rate, and huge infrastructural gaps.
He stated that the real economy and other productive sectors must be well supported to create jobs for the country’s teeming youth population.
He noted that while Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 24.23 per cent in March 2025 after a consecutive decline in the first two months of the year, food inflation further eased to 21.79 per cent.
Idahosa said that in spite of the decline recorded in food inflation, government must remain focused on boosting food production through ongoing policy reforms.
“We expect government to pay more attention to agricultural production infrastructure, boost food processing potentials, and sustain the fight against insecurity in affected areas.
“With the headline inflation rising again, the hope of seeing a reduction in the interest rate may go dim if the rising inflationary pressures are not controlled.
“With estimated disruptions to global trade becoming a concern to many and a depreciating currency, we may begin to see another phase of unabated rising inflation driven mainly by food, energy, and logistics costs,” he projected.
To improve the country’s ccompetitiveness, the LCCI president urged the Federal Government to develop a model to attract private investment in strategic infrastructural assets.
He also emphasised the need for government’s borrowings to be project-tied.
“Finally, we urge the government to hasten its tax reforms to ensure a more efficient tax system without pain to the citizens and sustainably improve the country’s revenue,” he said.
Addressing the country’s power sector issues, Idahosa noted that businesses and households had continued to suffer under a double whammy of generating their own electricity and paying higher tariffs on electricity.
He called on government to sustain its reforms in the sector through the aggressive metering programme and attract more investment into the renewable energy space.
The LCCI president also stressed the need to create an enabling environment for the states to drive electricity generation in their respective domains.
“Without fixing the power sector to perform at optimal levels, our aspiration to achieve a one trillion dollar economy may remain a dream with no reality.
“We urge government to remain committed to commercial partnerships signed with various renewable energy investors.
“This can be achieved by granting them required licenses, providing a robust and competitive regulatory environment, and driving local content provisions in those energy projects,” he said. (NAN)
Edited by Christiana Fadare
Published By
- Agriculture and Environment Desk Controller/Website Content Manager.
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