The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has said that for the government to attract more investments, it must create pathways for consensus building for effective implementation of reforms.
Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said that to achieve this, the government must develop strategies for making the reform benefits accessible to all, and must also identify inclusive growth pathways for equitable opportunities.
He said this, yesterday, ahead of the third edition of the association’s employers’ summit with the theme, ‘Economic Renaissance: Harnessing Government Reforms and Private Sector Agility,’ to be held in Abuja on June 25 and 26, 2024.
Oyerinde said that the summit is expected to re-establish the nexus between government reforms and private-sector collaboration for rapid national growth and sustainable development.
Chairman, Committee of Finance Experts, NECA, who is also the co-chair of the summit, Muyiwa Adebayo, said that the summit would foster a higher-level participation of the private sector in reforms formulation, implementation and appraisal, as a means to building national consensus and participation.
He added that it would equally generate and promote alternative policy frameworks for national development and reinforce the role of the private sector as the engine of national development.
Also, another co-chair of the summit and Chairperson, NECA Committee of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Expert, Victoria Uwadoka, said the employers’ summit would focus on four thematic areas implementing economic policies without businesses’ resistance, job creation dynamics, advocacy for policy clarity and strategic partnerships for holistic transformation.
“Having an economic renaissance means businesses are thriving, there is more productivity people are gainfully employed and they can afford necessities. This can only happen when there is collaboration between the government and the private sector.
“There is the need to look at the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are the bedrock of any economy and for the economy to grow, we must look at empowering the SMEs and create platforms to drive the funds needed for them to grow exponentially,” she said.
