The International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (ICCN) has urged the Federal Government to address the bottlenecks at the nation’s borders and seaports to enhance trade and investment in the economy. The President of ICCN, Mr Babatunde Savage, made the appeal on Friday night in Lagos at the chamber’s Annual Award and 80th Anniversary celebration of the ICC Marketing and Advertising Code in Lagos. Savage said that businesses needed adequate power supply, effective communication facilities and free movement of people and goods to thrive.
He said that there was need for Nigerian Government to forge strategic alliances with governments of other African countries to tackle hindrances to business growth.
Savage said that resolving bottlenecks that impeded trade would promote cross border trade and reduce operational cost of businesses.
According to him, the mission of ICCN is to mainstream businesses in Nigeria to the global community and promote wealth creation through international trade and investment.
He noted that ICCN Banking Commission had been at the forefront of facilitating trade finance for Nigeria and the entire Africa to deepen competitiveness and financial inclusion of micro, small and medium enterprises. Savage said that the chamber would establish an advertising and marketing commission to facilitate business growth and would promote effective self-regulation of marketing and advertising communications.
“The fundamental value of self-regulation lies in its ability to create, enhance and preserve consumer trust and confidence in the business communities and the market itself,” he said. He said that the commission would continue to regularly review the code to ensure continued relevance in a dynamic legal, social and technological environment.
Mr Steve Omojafor, Chairman, STB McCann, Nigeria, said that strategic communication was imperative to boost cross-border trade, profitability and productivity in a changing business world.
Omojafor, a former Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, called for collaboration across various sectors and capacity development of workers to stimulate economic growth. ICC global network comprises more than over six million companies, chambers of commerce and business associations in more than 130 countries. ICC was founded in 1919; ICC Nigeria became a member of the world body in 1979 and was re-organised in 1999 in realisation of the benefits that business community can derive.
