GILBERT TOBORE AND OMOTAYO ARAOYE
As the coronavirus pandemic hits and causes disruption to businesses, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce has sought tax waivers from the Federal government on medical equipment, pharmaceutical products, food processing, raw materials and intermediate products and other essential items required in the present situation.
LCCI president, Toki Mabogunje, in a reaction to the effects of the pandemic on the economy especially the real sector, also sought the removal of bottlenecks brought about by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) policies as the government considers series of palliatives to cushion the effect of the deadly and ravaging virus
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The body which represents the organised private sector also asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to prevail on commercial banks to grant concession oN private sector credit during this period.
The requests of the body came as the federal government is applying a series of measures to counter the effects of the deadly virus on Nigerians and businesses.
The CBN had last week announced several measures including slashing of interest rates from 9 percent to 5 percent in addition to N50 billion support credit for the formal and the informal sectors including households to mitigate the effect of the economic crisis in the wake of the virus attack.
Similarly, the apex bank provided for N100 billion grant funding facilities (in Naira and foreign exchange) to pharmaceutical companies in the country to enable them to procure raw materials and equipment to boost local drug production in Nigeria. This is outside the N1 trillion stimulus to ensure the economy does not run out of steam
To all of this, Mabogunje said, this is the time to prioritize quick wins with prompt executive actions as no sacrifice is too much to stop this disease that has taken many lives and dampen the economy.
The LCCI president, notes the enormity and severity of the looming catastrophe which the coronavirus pandemic portends, if not quickly contained.
as she highlighted part of the negative implications of this pandemic to the government, Nigerians and to the world to include dislocations in the global economy given the downturn in global output and turmoil in global financial markets, as fears of the pandemic wiped out over $8 trillion in the market value of listed firms globally.
“Reduction in global oil consumption as economic activities slowed down, resulting in falling oil prices. Disruption of global supply chains, the aviation industry, manufacturing, trade volume, etc. Many corporates are increasingly revising their earning forecasts downwards”., lamented the LCCI boss who noted that Nigeria has to review downward the 2020 budget owing to the weakening oil price.
Other effects according to her are disruptions in business and economic activities leading to companies and businesses to shut down operations, with the aviation, hospitality, SMEs and manufacturing sectors are among some of the worst-hit in the current situation.
Also, she noted the worsening fiscal and external position of the country in the light of lower receipts from oil exports, depreciation of the naira exchange rate across various market windows and the adverse impact on Nigeria’s trade, as the major trading partners in Asia and Europe are grappling with the challenge of lockdowns.
She hence advised businesses to review their strategies in line with unfolding developments and adopt a flexible business model to ensure tight control on costs and non-revenue generating segments of the business.
In addition, she asked businesses to review the supply chain with a focus on import substitution and backward integration as much as possible. and leveraging technology in existing business processes for efficiency and cost-effectiveness while broadening the scope of remote working for employees.
The Chamber commends the efforts and steadfastness of the federal government, the Lagos State Government, the NCDC, the Ministries of Health and other state governments and agencies in containing this pandemic.
She also applauds the initiative of the private sector coalition led by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the initiative of the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) with the Lagos State Government, the Intervention funds being raised by the CBN with the partnership of certain Nigerian Corporations to fight the pandemic and donations by international organizations such as that received from the Jack Ma Foundation, the founder of Alibaba.
LCCI invites more private sectors to complement the current efforts of the government and the various private sector coalitions to effectively contain the pandemic, noting that these times demand all the sacrifices to save humanity as more is required to tackle this pandemic and eliminate it as early as possible.
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