The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has advised government to do more in addressing the nation’s security problems.
This, it said, was necessary to re-project the Nigerian economy as a safe investment destination and encourage foreign direct investments.
Mrs Toki Mabogunje, President, LCCI, in a statement to newsmen on Wednesday, stressed that the problems had the tendency to thwart government’s efforts in encouraging private investment inflows.
Mabogunje noted that such investments were critical to the economy, particularly at a time when it was in dire need of massive investments to bolster growth recovery, create jobs and alleviate poverty.
She said that investors’ confidence weakened before the COVID-19 outbreak, and many were still seeing the Nigerian market as a risky venture in spite of the oil price recovery, vaccination dissemination and growth recovery.
She projected that investors’ confidence may remain weak in the short-term, should the situation remain unabated.
Mabogunje said the impact of the security problems on the Nigerian economy remained profound and multi – dimensional and had crippled many private and public investments across the nation.
“The worsening security situation will trigger further inflationary pressure on food prices, thus exacerbating the poverty conditions in the country.
“The LCCI advises the executive arm of government to liaise with the legislative arm to take security out of the exclusive list of the Nigerian Constitution and include it in the concurrent list.
“We also call for the decentralizing of the nation’s security eco-system to help stem the rising tide as it enables other levels of government take key security-related decisions and initiatives within their domain.
“The sub nationals need to play more active roles in the restoration of peace in the country through the creation of a security machinery and architecture that would be controlled by them, subject of course to certain guidelines, especially regarding the rules of engagement,” she said.
Mabogunje also stressed the need to ensure a concrete and sustainable means of reducing youth unemployment rate through youth employment schemes and programmes.
“There is a strong correlation between unemployment and criminality.
“It is critically important to have this challenge urgently resolved so that the pervasive fear and anxiety inflicted by the fear of insecurity can come to end,” she said. (NAN)
