LCCI urges FG to further review restrictions on imported items

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Federal Government to further review the restrictions on some imported items to maintain stability in the economy.  Mr Muda Yusuf, Director-General of LCCI, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

According to him, there is the need to ensure that there is a balance between the desire to be self-reliant and the welfare effects on the citizens.

“If the gap between domestic capacity to produce and the domestic demand is too wide, it creates a crisis for the citizens. It will have a major welfare effect, especially if it has to do with some staple foods and raw materials. So maintaining a balance is very critical to the growth of the economy,” Yusuf said.

Besides, he said that some of the policies of the past years had adversely affected investors’ confidence and affected liquidity in the system. He said that because of liquidity issues, most investors were not willing to bring in their money.

According to him, this is because the CBN does not have the capacity to support the demand for foreign exchange since the economy is largely import dependent.

“It is easier to destroy confidence than to rebuild it, so it will take some time for the confidence to be restored. Although some policies have been put in place to restore confidence like the flexible exchange rate, rebuilding confidence is always difficult.”

He stressed the need to address the energy challenges, adding that productivity and job creation could not be boosted in an economy without a stable power. He said the government needed to declare a state of emergency in the power sector to boost economic activities. “The present power situation is not giving us the right kind of outcome. There has to be a drastic step taken to deal with the power situation,” Yusuf said.