The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on policymakers to choose the appropriate policy mix that would drive down the inflationary pressure.
  
Director-General of LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, said the current inflation environment should be used as an opportunity to look beyond and consider longer-term issues, particularly in agriculture, manufacturing and export sectors.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s inflation moderated to 33.4 per cent in July 2024 from 34.19 per cent in the previous month. Almona said this slight moderation is the first since December 2022.

She said the business community remains hopeful as operators expect some respite from the biting effect of the unbearable high interest rates that businesses have had to cope with in the past years. She urged the government to sustain the cost reliefs initiated to reduce the cost of doing business as well as programmes and policies initiated to tame inflation.

“We advise the government to sustain and expand programmes and policies like the import duty waivers on food and drugs, the introduction of compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered vehicles to give way to cheaper means of transportation, FX market reforms to boost supply and the decision to make provision for direct crude supply to local refineries as well as the transition to renewable energy.”  
 
Lamenting that the Purchasing Managers Index for July fell to 49.7 per cent, she said consistent efforts are needed to create certainty in the policy environment to boost the confidence of industries in the economy. 
Adding that the country’s perception is poor and investors’ confidence is being beaten down due to insecurity, she said the fight against insecurity must be sustained. 
  
“We urge the government to support the economy’s productive sector and incentivise the production of exportable goods where the country has a comparative advantage to increase FX earnings and sustain stability in the FX market,” she said.