The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has urged the Federal Government to make reliable electricity, security, efficient transport infrastructure and higher productivity key priorities as Nigeria marks its 66th Independence anniversary.
Executive Director of the centre, Dr Muda Yusuf, said Nigeria’s economic transformation remained incomplete, noting that farmers, manufacturers and small businesses continued to face structural challenges that limited their productivity and earnings.
Assessing the country’s economic trajectory over the past 66 years, Yusuf said many farmers still operated with low yields, manufacturers faced high power and logistics costs, while a significant proportion of employment remained concentrated in low-productivity activities.
He said the government needed to move beyond economic stabilisation and pursue a stronger productivity agenda capable of translating growth into jobs and improved living standards.
According to him, farmers require security, irrigation, storage facilities and access roads to increase agricultural output, while manufacturers need reliable electricity, efficient ports and predictable regulations to compete.
He added that small businesses also needed affordable working capital and customers with sufficient purchasing power to remain viable.
“Without progress on these structural constraints, growth will remain too weak in jobs and real incomes, regardless of improvements in headline indicators,” Yusuf said.
The CPPE also called for government support to industries to be linked to investment, efficiency and export performance.
It said the ultimate objective should be to reduce the cost of production in Nigeria and increase the supply of affordable goods and services to consumers.
On inflation, the organisation acknowledged that the rate had eased but said prices remained significantly higher than previous levels.
According to the CPPE, increases in petrol prices, exchange rate adjustments and global food and energy shocks have weakened the purchasing power of households.
It said transport, food, electricity and other essential expenses were taking a larger share of household income, while businesses were also grappling with rising input, distribution and financing costs.
The centre said the benefits of economic reforms would only become meaningful when they translated into improvements in the daily lives of citizens and the operating environment of businesses.
It therefore urged the Federal Government to sustain macroeconomic stability while giving priority to national security, electricity and transport infrastructure.
The CPPE also called on state governments to improve land administration, roads, investment approvals, schools and healthcare services.
Local governments, it said, should maintain community infrastructure, improve basic services and eliminate arbitrary levies that place additional pressure on small businesses.
The organisation urged the three tiers of government to focus on measurable outcomes, including lower transport and production costs, higher agricultural yields, more reliable public services, improved learning and health outcomes, and the creation of more productive jobs.
It also stressed the need for greater accountability in the use of public resources, saying citizens should be able to identify what additional resources were spent on and the improvements achieved as a result.
