The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO, has called on Nigeria to place more importance on sustaining the private sector in order to attract investors into the country.
UNIDO’s West Africa Representative, Mr. Jean Bakole, who made the call at the 2022 Nigeria Employers’ Summit in Abuja, also advocated for incentives to promote businesses in Nigeria.
Bakole noted that there is no way Africa can move ahead with development without accelerating industrialisation.
“I think it’s very important that Nigeria being the leading economy in Africa has to put enough importance on the private sector, because if you don’t sustain the private sector in your country, you cannot be able to attract investors coming into the country,” he said.
Also speaking, the President of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi, called for a national advocacy forum involving the private sector to achieve sustainable economic growth in the country.
Adeniyi said the summit focused on promoting enterprise development as a major source of national development.
“Despite the genuine effort of government to create a favourable business environment, it is disturbing to note however, that the challenges being encountered by businesses are sometimes direct results of the uncertainties in the Nigerian business environment”.
“The conversation during these two days summit will be focused on building collaboration and establishing new growth-oriented partnerships between organised businesses, government and other critical stakeholders for the ultimate good of our country,” he said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige while speaking at the event said there have been positive results in the areas of public private partnership by NECA with government institutions.
Ngige said “A country is deemed as developed, if it can provide qualitative standard of living to our citizens by utilising the different sectors of the economy such as agriculture, industries, ecological management, through information technology, as smooth transition to digital economy, which are identified as human based approach to development.
“We have the cooperation with Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund, we have the cooperation with the industrial training fund for jobs, we expect more such public private partnership, both with mega affiliate bodies, the companies including multinationals in the individual rights and capacities.
“This will enable and create more opportunities for corporate social responsibility in those companies in tune with the principles contained in the ILO instrument, titled tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning multinational enterprises and Social Policy.”