By Omoh Gabriel, Business Editor
Private sector operator in Nigeria on Tuesday admitted the need for a strong single private sector institution to dialogue with government. Speaking at the pre Summit Dialogue organised by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, NESG both NACCIMA, MAN and NECCA said their was need for a single private sector voice in Nigeria.
However the sector blame government for allowing unholy access of economic contractors to its decision making process. The unholy access of some few privileged operators they said is responsible for the chaotic economic situation in the country.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Public Private sector Dialogue the President of NACCIMA Mr. John Odeyemi said that Economic Contractors and rent seekers were the ones who dominate Nigerian economic scene.
He said these group has un faltered access to government machinery and use it to get concessions and waivers for themselves and their institutions at the expense of the larger economy. He said that Nigeria do not follow global practice in which access to government is through well structured private sector institutions.
Chief Odeyemi further said that when Nigeria government official are traveling abroad they have the tendencies of going on such trips with bureaucratic who know little or nothing about business practices and enter into unworkable treaties on behalf of the organised private sector. Such treaties have been found to be unworkable in the Nigeria setting.
He said that in the past federal government in its so called economic diplomacy encouraged the fractionalisation of the organised private sector through Bilateral agreements and encouraging the setting up of different private sector bodies which today have become serious problem within the economy and make the private sector not to speak with one voice.
Odeyemi disclosed that the private sector is looking at the possibility of coming up with one umbrella body for the private sector.
Speaking on the need for the private sector to have one formidable voice Chief Phillip Asiodu former Economic Adviser to the President and a private sector operator said that the private sector needed a consensus building process. He said the Nigeria private sector should reach a consensus in this era of economic reform so that it can take its proper place in the ongoing process.
Asiodu said that the private sector can not continue in its present individualistic and partial approach to national economic issues which has resulted in the damage that has been inflicted on the economy. He cited the example of the textile industry which in the past was employing over a million that has been dragged down to employing less than 100,000 per sons at date. He attributed this to government policy inconsistencies that came about because of the disorientation of the private sector.
Asiodu said that in the recent past government export incentives encouraged a number of entrepreneurs to go into export but midway the government came up with export pre shipment policy which has derailed the export process with a number perishable products waiting for days and weeks for inspection agencies or customs that never came. He said the situation has become a serious drag on the economy.
NECCA on its part said it has long realise the need for a strong private sector voice and had gone out of its way to attempt a merger between MAN and NECCA which member are mainly from the same institutions. She said the attempt ran into a hitch but hopes it will yield the desired result soon. She said the three arm of the OPS, MAN, NACCIMA and NECCA have since agreed to present a single pre and post budget memoranda to government.
