By Oso Abidemi<\/p>\n
As Nigeria marks its 65th independence anniversary, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has called for sober reflection, warning that while key economic indicators suggest cautious optimism, the reality for most citizens and businesses remains harsh.<\/p>\n
LCCI President, Gabriel Idahosa, said in a statement that Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads where reforms must move beyond numbers and translate into real relief for households, workers, and enterprises.<\/p>\n
\u201cKey indicators are showing some positive trends worth highlighting. Economic growth is accelerating with Q2 GDP growth at 4.23 per cent.<\/p>\n
“Productivity in the oil and gas sector is recovering. Headline inflation, while still elevated, has eased to 20.12 per cent as of August.<\/p>\n
“The naira is appreciating and now trending below N1,500\/USD. External reserves have strengthened above $42 billion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Yet, he stressed, these improvements have not eased the cost-of-living crisis faced by Nigerians, many of whom still grapple with soaring food prices, rising unemployment, and weak purchasing power.<\/p>\n
For businesses, he added, the environment remains tough with high costs, unstable electricity supply, and regulatory uncertainties.<\/p>\n
Idahosa urged government to ensure a transparent rollout of tax reforms, provide clarity for investors, and adopt fiscal measures that bring down costs for manufacturers and SMEs without undermining reserves.<\/p>\n
He also pushed for policies that accelerate industrialisation, boost local manufacturing, and drive export growth, citing the 30 per cent Value-Addition Export Bill and the Nigeria First Policy as key opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cSMEs and startups, the backbone of our economy, need stronger support through fair taxation, transparent regulation, and policies that truly stimulate the real economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The LCCI boss noted that while statistics may give a sense of progress, they mean little unless they ease the burden on ordinary Nigerians – families struggling with school fees, young people seeking jobs, and small businesses battling to survive.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt 65, Nigeria stands at a pivotal juncture. Sustained reforms, policy consistency, and collaboration between the public and private sectors are crucial if we are to unlock our potential and secure a prosperous future for our people,\u201d Idahosa said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Oso Abidemi As Nigeria marks its 65th independence anniversary, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has called for sober reflection, warning that while key economic indicators suggest cautious optimism, the reality for most citizens and businesses remains harsh. LCCI President, Gabriel Idahosa, said in a statement that Nigeria stands at a critical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":75906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[1761],"class_list":["post-75903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-nigeria65"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75903"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75908,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75903\/revisions\/75908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}