Regulatory gangsterism under Buhari responsible for job losses – NECA

‘Regulatory gangsterism’ under President Muhammadu Buhari’s first four years by some regulatory agencies have been responsible for job losses, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, has said.

According to the association, this has also led to stifling of businesses and discouraged entrepreneurial propensity among small and medium enterprises, which, according to it, are the major drivers of employment in the informal sector of the economy.

NECA stated this in a statement issued on Thursday in Lagos with the title, ‘President Buhari’s reelection: Implications for businesses’, adding that the 2019 should be passed early as many business decisions were tied to it.

NECA’s Director-General of NECA, Mr Timothy Olawale, who signed the statement, appealed to President Buhari to reverse the negative trend in his second term in order to ensure the revival of the moribund industries.

He said: “Regulatory gangsterism reached a new height in the first four years of the administration. As the President was making efforts to ease the challenges of doing business in Nigeria, some regulatory agencies were stifling businesses, discouraging entrepreneurial propensity of small and medium-scale entities and inadvertently creating the environment for job losses.

“The President must ensure that this trend is brought to a stop. A collaborative engagement of the private sector and the creation of an environment for it to thrive is the only panacea to the raging threat of unemployment in our nation.

“This government has another four years’ opportunity to reverse the negative trends and prognosis associated with the nation in the last four years. Concerted efforts must be made to revive moribund industries, support struggling enterprises, create a responsible regulatory regime and focus on inclusive growth for the rapid development of our nation.”

The statement further said that NECA expects to see more of policy stability, adding that the government should ensure a sustained commitment to the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP.