66th Independence: LCCI speaks on next level of economic reforms

Marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) urged the Federal Government to anchor the next phase of economic reforms on competitiveness and productivity, translating recent macroeconomic stabilization into broad-based prosperity.

LCCI President, Engr. Leye Kupoluyi, commended the rollout of a unified government services portal and called for sustained regulatory reforms so digital public services operate efficiently, reduce costs, and remove bottlenecks for enterprises.

Ease of doing business: cut red tape and digitize services

According to the Chamber, businesses must be able to operate without excessive delays and costs. Priority actions should ensure companies can:

• Register and obtain permits and licenses swiftly
• Pay taxes transparently and predictably
• Import inputs and export products with minimal frictions
• Access affordable finance, especially for MSMEs and industry
• Resolve commercial disputes quickly and fairly

From stabilization to prosperity

The LCCI stressed that Nigeria’s long-term prosperity depends on shifting from an economy driven mainly by consumption and government spending to one propelled by investment, production, exports, and private-sector job creation. With a large domestic market, youthful demographics, rich agricultural resources, vast energy potential, and a vibrant entrepreneurial base, the nation’s assets can yield greater value if the operating environment enables productive investment. The Chamber called for a renewed national commitment to production, productivity, and competitiveness.

Immediate relief and structural fixes

To tackle the cost-of-living crisis while addressing root causes, the LCCI urged a targeted package of immediate measures:

• Expand mass transit and upgrade public transport infrastructure, including the rollout of CNG and electric vehicles, to lower commuting costs and improve mobility of goods and people.
• Increase food supply and reduce post-harvest losses through investments in irrigation, storage, rural roads, agricultural inputs, security, and market infrastructure.
• Boost domestic output by prioritizing poultry and fisheries, scaling agro-processing to add value, and strengthening farm-to-market logistics.
• Facilitate the movement of food from surplus to deficit areas by removing unnecessary restrictions and bottlenecks along major food corridors.

Energy and cost-of-living measures

• Reduce the pass-through of global energy price shocks by improving domestic crude supply to local refineries, strengthening refinery operations, expanding gas utilization, and accelerating investment in alternative energy solutions.
• Support real incomes for low- and middle-income workers through continued wage dialogues linked to productivity gains and measures that lower the cost of essential goods and services.
• Replace broad, fiscally expensive subsidies with targeted interventions for the most vulnerable—such as food assistance, transport support, and well-designed social protection—while deploying import waivers for critical production inputs to ease sector-specific inflation.

A competitiveness agenda for industry

The Chamber advocated moving from isolated interventions to a comprehensive industrial competitiveness program built on five priorities:

• Reliable, affordable energy: Accelerate power-sector reforms, deploy dedicated industrial power solutions, and improve gas supply to industrial clusters.
• Affordable long-term finance: Expand development-finance instruments, credit guarantees, and blended-finance mechanisms targeting manufacturing, agro-processing, and MSMEs.
• Predictable trade and tariff policy: Provide certainty on tariffs, import restrictions, and customs procedures, supporting domestic production without creating artificial shortages.
• Local supply-chain development: Promote domestic production of industrial inputs, packaging materials, machinery, chemicals, agricultural inputs, and other intermediate goods.
• Industrial infrastructure: Develop and rehabilitate industrial parks and clusters, roads, rail links, ports, and logistics networks to cut the cost of moving goods.

Kupoluyi emphasized that Nigeria must produce more, employ more Nigerians, and reduce dependence on imports. Policymakers should target inflation while restoring purchasing power and lowering structural costs embedded in prices. At 66, the national focus should be to convert stability into prosperity—shifting decisively to inclusive growth, from consumption to production, and from high operating costs to competitiveness—so businesses are stronger, jobs expand, purchasing power improves, and prosperity is widely shared.