Private Sector leaders in Nigeria, the like of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) said that the government’s ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are to be blamed for the unfriendly business environment in the country.
The Director-General of both the MAN and NECA, stated this during the third edition of NECA Employers’ Excellence Awards, with the theme “Against All Odds.”
The Director-General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, noted that most MDAs have made the environment in the country too unfriendly for businesses, whereas Nigeria urgently needs investments to be able to create jobs for teeming unemployed youths, stressing that current harsh business environment had made this difficult.
He said: “We run an economy where the environment is hardly conducive for business, but you see patriots, resilient investors and you see people who, in spite of all odds, believe in Nigeria. Therefore, tonight is for celebration.
“It is to celebrate resilience and belief in a country that has continuously underperformed far below its potential. Today, we all represent champions that will ensure Nigeria takes its place as a leading economy in Africa.”
His counterpart, the Director-General of NECA, Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, added that organised businesses will no longer accept the situation where their social partners or government had become undertakers of legitimate businesses.
He said: “Despite the fact that inflation rate is almost 30 per cent, multiplicity of taxes and threats of strike and protest, organised businesses remain standing.
‘’We are here to celebrate the resilience of businesses because it is not easy for us to be in the trenches from January to December, advocating, engaging and writing when the need arises.”