BREAKING NEWS, Business
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The Lagos Chamber of Commerce is worried over the declining price of oil in the international market
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Nov 23, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, is worried over the declining international oil price and its attendant impact to the economy. This has made the LCCI leadership to call on the managers of the Nigerian economy to look inwards by paying serious attention to developing the non-oil sector of the economy to achieve economic growth. Remi Bello, president, LCCI, stated this during the opening ceremony of the Lagos International Trade Fair, LITF.
He explained that the non-oil sector remained the major driver of growth in Nigeria, maintaining that the theme of this year’s fair, “Enhancing Value Addition in the Non-oil Economy” was chosen to underscore the strategic importance of the non-oil sectors in the Nigerian economy in the face of the country’s over-dependence on the oil sector and the urgent need for economic diversification. “We will continue to offer advice, inputs and partnership on strategies and measures to facilitate the realisation of the economic development programmes of government,” he said.
Bello stated that the chamber has broadened the horizon and scope of its trade fair and investment opportunities for its exhibitors and visitors at the fair. “In pursuing these objectives, the fair is staged to hold at three different venues, the Tafawa Belawa square, Muson centre and Freedom Park, Onikan, Lagos, and the introduction of the new venue is to accommodate corporate exhibition, business-to-business meetings and the rapidly growing Nigeria’s creative industry,” he said.
On his part, Bassey Edem, president, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, urged Lagos State government to intervene and impress on the federal government to release the Lagos International Trade Fair, LITF, village on Badagry Express way to the LCCI for effective use of the facility. He said the Lagos International Trade Fair was not a permanent trade fair site, saying that the LCCI had no choice than to put it to use instead of the trade fair lying fallow.
He pointed out that hosting this year fair at the designated centres, the LCCI has shown resilience, sustained ability and technical know-how to beat the odds and conducts a successful fair. “The Lagos fair has grown over the years with pioneering initiatives being introduced into the fair yearly, attracting an average of 500,000 visitors from over 18 countries yearly with the Nigeria estimated population of 150 million confirming the fair as the hub of Nigeria’s economic and business activities.”
Michael Olawale Cole, chairman, Trade Promotion Board, LCCI, had explained the need to support development of the non-oil sector in Nigeria especially now that the country urgently needs to diversify its economy, maintaining that in today’s business world, developmental initiatives such as investment conference and entrepreneurship development programmes with special focus on the non-oil sector is critical to help the country get out of its present precarious situation. “
He added that many small business owners have capacity deficit in various areas of their enterprise, saying that this is one major reason for the failure of quite a number of these businesses between during their start-up year and the third year. “One sure way of investing in the future of the economy is to increase the capacity of these entrepreneurs to create and manage businesses. This is what is done in all successful economies around the world,” he added.
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