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Tag: Muda Yusuf

  • LCCI holds forum to renegotiate concerns in Lagos Land Use Charge

    LCCI holds forum to renegotiate concerns in Lagos Land Use Charge

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( LCCI ), is set to hold a dialogue session that will renegotiate grey areas in the new Land Use Charge Law of Lagos State.

    This was disclosed in a statement signed by Mr Muda Yusuf, Director-General of LCCI on Friday in Lagos.

    Yusuf said that the session, scheduled for March 9, would examine the provisions of the recently-passed law viz-a-viz its implications for residents and businesses operating in Lagos State and its environs.

    “In continuance of its Public Policy Advocacy Initiative, it behoves the LCCI to provide a platform, such as this, to aggregate the views of stakeholders (both public and private) on the new Land Use Charge Law in Lagos, which has generated heated debates in the public space.

    “This platform will enable stakeholders in Real Estate, Construction and other related sectors to engage the Lagos State Government on the recently-passed Law and re-negotiate its grey areas,” he said.

    Yusuf added that seasoned Professionals, Leaders of Businesses in the Private Sector and top Public Sector Officials would be available to dialogue with participants at the event.

    Lagos State Government recently repealed its 2001 Land Use Charge Law, and replaced it with a new Land Use Charge Law, 2018.

    The State House of Assembly had passed the bill on Jan. 29, while the Governor signed the bill into law on Feb. 8.

    Based on this law, new rates were sent to residents and those that have received their bills claim that the land use charge was an increase of between 150 and 300 per cent over the 2017 rates.

    NAN

  • LCCI urges executive, legislature to resolve issues in national interest

    LCCI urges executive, legislature to resolve issues in national interest

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( LCCI ) has appealed to the executive and legislative arms of government to resolve their issues in the national interest and for economic growth.

    Mr Muda Yusuf, its Director-General, made the appeal in an interview with the Reporter in Lagos on Wednesday.

    He said that the two arms of government should ensure that their differences did not affect the economy and welfare of citizens.

    Yusuf made the suggestion while reacting to the postponement of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled for Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 due to inability to form the statutory quorum.

    The vacuum in membership of the MPC was due to retirement of some members and some who had completed their terms.

    The Second Schedule of the CBN Act (Section 12(5) and 540) stipulated that the quorum should be formed with six members in attendance, two of whom should be the governor and a deputy governor or two deputy governors.

    Read Also: 2018 Budget: LCCI lauds 30.8% capital allocation

    Reporter recalls that President Muhammadu Buhari, in October 2017, nominated Mrs Aisha Ahmad as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    He also sought the confirmation of Messrs Adeola Adenikinju, Aliyu Sanusi, Robert Asogwa and Mrs Asheikh Maidugu as members of the CBN Monetary Policy Committee.

    Months after the nomination, the Senate is yet to confirm the nominees.

    Yusuf said that whatever reasons the National Assembly might have to stall confirmation of the nominees should be set aside in consideration of the economy.

    The LCCI boss said that socio-economic growth should be the priority of government, adding that the country should avoid issues that might heighten uncertainties about the economy.

    “The outcome of the MPC meeting always gives direction about the thinking of the monetary authority and investors are usually on the lookout for these decisions,” he said.

    Yusuf said that this was paramount to maintain investors’ confidence, attract investments and create jobs.

    NAN

  • Automotive policy biting harder on economy – LCCI

    Automotive policy biting harder on economy – LCCI

    The automotive policy is biting harder on the economy and must be urgently reviewed, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( LCCI ) said on Monday in Lagos.

    The Director-General of LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, who made the observation in an interview, said that the review was necessary for facilitated economic growth.

    Yusuf said that the policy, which raised tariff on imported cars from 20 per cent to 70 per cent, had put the cost of vehicles beyond the reach of many individuals and corporate bodies

    “There is the need to act quickly to reverse the unsavory situation,” he said.

    The automotive policy was introduced in 2013 as a strategy to reduce importation of vehicles and boost the capacity of domestic vehicle assembly plants.

    “The automobile sector was hit by the double shock of currency depreciation and a hike in tariff from 20 per cent to 70 per cent (in the case of new cars).

    “Whereas, there is very little that can be done about the currency depreciation, a great deal can be done about the policy, which is a creation of government,” Yusuf said.

    Yusuf said that years into the implementation of the policy, much progress had yet to been made.

    “The affordable vehicles promised at the inception of the policy are yet to be seen. The economy has suffered incalculable consequences and shocks as the cost of vehicles reached levels that are unprecedented in the history of the country.

    “Virtually all aspects of our economic and social lives have been adversely affected by the situation because over 90 per cent of the country’s freight and human movement are done by road, which implies heavy dependence on cars, commercial buses and trucks.

    “Manufacturers and other real sector investors suffer from sharp increases in haulage cost because of the high cost of trucks; school buses have become unaffordable by many institutions.

    “Many hospitals cannot afford new ambulances; many corporate organisations have drastically cut down on their fleet. Car ownership is now completely beyond the majority of the middle class,’’ he said.

    He said that the consequences of the policy on the economy and welfare of citizens were immeasurable.

    According to him, the cost of vehicles rose by between 100 per cent  and 400 per cent due to the policy.

    “ A new car of 1.8-litre engine capacity now costs as high as N18 million;  two-litre engine capacity costs N20 million and a 3-litre new Japanese car costs as high as N30 million.

    “A 30-seater bus costs about N45 million and an 18-seater bus costs N29 million.

    “Not many investors and citizens have the capacity to absorb these outrageous prices.

    “Even big corporate organisations are now buying used vehicles. This scenario is most inappropriate for an economy that is heavily dependent on road transportation,” he said.

    Yusuf added that the policy had caused loss of maritime business and increased smuggling due to high import duty and levy with a huge duty differential compared with those of neighbouring countries.

    He said that the policy also caused huge loss of Customs revenue due to reduction in vehicle importation.

    The director-general also said that the policy resulted in increased cost of transportation which affected all sectors of the economy.

    “Import duty on commercial vehicles and used cars should be reviewed downwards to 20 per cent.

    “Complete Knocked Down ( CKD ) and Semi Knocked Down ( SKD ) should all attract zero duty,” the LCCI boss advised.

    According to Yusuf, the government should grant further tax concession and waiver to assembly plants and retain incentives for machineries and tyre industries as contained in the policy.

    Yusuf said that similar incentives should be extended for local production of vehicle spare parts.

    He urged the government and its agencies to encourage patronage of locally assembled vehicles to boost growth of the industry.

    Yusuf said that review of the policy would restore jobs in the automobile industry and boost activities in the maritime sector.

    NAN

  • LCCI to engage Fashola on power sector

    LCCI to engage Fashola on power sector

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is set to hold a dialogue targeted at proffering solutions to challenges in the nation’s power sector.

    According to a statement issued by the chamber on Monday, the dialogue is to hold on Thursday in Lagos.

    The statement was issued by the Director-General of LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf.

    It said that the dialogue was part of the chamber’s public sector engagement programmes for the growth of the nation’s economy.

    “The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, will attend this dialogue session as the special guest of honour.

    “It will be a platform for the minister to intimate Nigerians about ongoing projects and efforts of government at solving the energy/power debacle.

    “The forum will enable stakeholders to deliberate on key aspects of the privatisation of the power sector, the role of  distribution companies, generation companies, government and all categories of consumers in achieving a successful reform in the sector,” it said said.

    It added that some experts in the sector would be present at the dialogue to engage the minister.

  • LCCI urges NASS to guard against loss of investors’ confidence

    LCCI urges NASS to guard against loss of investors’ confidence

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the National Assembly to be cautious in its oversight and investigative role, to avoid economic disruption and loss of investors’ confidence.

    Mr Muda Yusuf, Director-General of LCCI, made the appeal in a statement on Monday in Lagos.

    He said that allegations and petitions received by the national assembly about infractions by the Private Sector should be properly verified for credibility, before presenting such to the media.

    “The most recent of such public pronouncements was the alleged N30 trillion revenue loss, and the allegedly missing 288 vessels by the Senate Joint Committee on Customs, Excise, Tariffs and Marine Transport.

    “Some 63 firms were accused of complicity in the alleged scam. These are grave allegations that needed to be subjected to proper scrutiny, before making them public issues.

    “Their implications for the nation’s image and foreign investors’ perception are severe.

    “The chamber believes and promotes the ideals of high ethical standards in business and would not support infractions against statutory laws by private sector entities.

    “However, we would like to see a legislative/private sector interface characterised by mutual respect, fairness, and courtesy,” Yusuf said.

    According to him, listing corporate organisations in the media over allegations have considerable reputational costs and weighty consequences for the brand equity of such organisations.

    He noted that frequent summons of organisations by the legislature had significant financial implications to organisations not domiciled in Abuja, in terms of costs of flights, hotels and other logistics for appearing before the national assembly.

    “The Executive time committed to appearance before committees of the national assembly is enormous, especially since most of the committees would insist that appearance should be at the level of the CEOs of the companies.

    “There is need to streamline the summons and public hearings to avoid duplication and overlap between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    “It is also imperative for the leadership of the national assembly to vet the summons by its committees to ensure efficiency, cost effectiveness and optimisation of executive time committed to the public hearings.

    “This is important when we realise that we have 89 Standing Committees in the House of Representatives and 59 Standing Committees in the Senate,” he said.

    The LCCI boss said that statutory agencies of government were often custodians of some information that the private sector was required to provide support to legislative investigations.

    “It is more cost effective to access this information from these agencies of government.

    “Matters that can be investigated by the statutory agencies of government such as the Judiciary, the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and

    Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Industrial Court, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), should be referred to such institutions.

    “These bodies have better competences, capacities, and structures for investigation of infringements of the law.

    “This would enable the National Assembly focus on its core duties of representation and lawmaking,” he said.

    Yusuf said that the chamber appreciated the role of the senate in enacting enabling laws and review of obsolete legislations toward creating an enabling environment for investors.

    According to him, the economy needs investors to boost job creation and accelerate the economic recovery process, adding that the Economic

    Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) deliverables are anchored largely on the private sector.

    He, therefore, urged the national assembly to align with the plan toward reducing avoidable distractions to investors in the economy.

  • LCCI calls for faithful implementation of ERGP

    Mr. Muda Yusuf, the Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), on Monday called for faithful implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    Yusuf told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the plan would help to stop policy uncertainties.

    He said that the plan would also boost investors’ confidence in the economy as it had made clear the direction of the government.

    “You know that a number of Nigerians have complained that they did not know the economic direction of the government.

    “The Economy Recovery and Growth Plan has shown what the government policies are.

    “This will help to enhance the confidence of foreign and local investors.

    “Also the good thing about the plan is that foreign investors will be encouraged to bring in more funds into the country”.

    The LCCI boss said that the plan had a delivery unit to monitor its implementation.

    “We have had similar plans in the past, but implementation had always been the problem.

    “So, one good thing about the plan is the clear expression about its implementation,” he said.

    Yusuf advised government to ensure proper coordination of fiscal, monetary and trade policies as important elements of the plan.

    He expressed optimism that the plan would have positive effects on foreign exchange market and makes it market driven.

    “It is important and of interest to monitor how fast this can be delivered because it will bring normalcy to the foreign exchange management and also address challenges in the market”.

    Mr. Wale Adegbite, the Chairman of Ota Branch of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), also urged that the plan should be well implemented.

    Adegbite said that nothing could be said yet about the plan until the implementation stage.

    He said that the era of non-implementation of policies had gone and called for full implementation for the success of the policy.

    “It is one thing to have a plan and another is to implement it.

    “It is only at the point of implementation that we can assess the policy.

    “At this stage, we can only urge the government to ensure that the policy achieved its target.

    “Like I said, they are all good intentions and they are all achievable once they put their minds into it,” Adegbite said.

     

  • 2016 economic prospect not good, says LCCI

    2016 economic prospect not good, says LCCI

    Nigeria’s foremost private sector business association, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has painted an admixture of a cautious optimism for the nation’s economy on the one hand, and a bleak outlook on the other for next year.

    While it posits that the N300billion projected funding of the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) by the commercial banks would boost lending to the sector, grow agriculture and create employment as well as increase the chances of the countries foreign exchange earnings in non oil export, its thoughts on declining global oil prices and its consequence on government’s revenue, as well as firms honouring contractual obligations to their financiers, were bleak, suggesting that the economy may yet tread a turbulent trajectory in 2016.

    LCCI’s Director-General, Muda Yusuf, in a statement yesterday,  entitled,  Economic and Business Review in 2015 and Perspective for 2016, said: “The targeted N300 billion by the Nigerian banks to boost lending to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and the agriculture sector in 2016 will boost SMEs development and employment and thus increase,” but nonetheless observed that the declining international spot oil price and its fallout will create unease for the economy in the coming year.

    As he put it: “With the declining trend of global oil price and its attendant impact on government revenue and foreign reserves, general business outlook will remain tense. Implications on cost of and access to credit will be undesirable. Businesses, especially those with high foreign exchange exposure, will continue to face challenges of meeting foreign obligations to suppliers and partners,” stressing that “this will also impact contractual trust and integrity.”

    He had no kind words for the Insurance sector either. In his words: “The insurance industry will remain largely underpenetrated with insurance density at about 0.225 per cent. Therefore, significant change in this industry with respect to growth and penetration remains bleak even as the sector is still highly fragmented,” he stated, pointing out that the declining Gross Domestic Product (GDP)  is also expected to strain, to a large extend, the performance of this industry.

    On the much trumpeted subsidy removal, Yusuf, argued that subsidy arrears payment and end of subsidy regime, would likely result in improved market efficiency and profitability as downstream sector players explore pricing dynamics to boost investment. The expected deregulation in the downstream sub-sector, in his view, “will be a game changer”.

    He warned of the likelihood of default across the business spectrum in 2016 due to cash flow hic-ups. “Risk of default in financial obligations in both public and private sectors will be high as macro-economic conditions and cash flow, remain tight,” Yusuf said.

    The LCCI chief expressed optimism that in 2016, GDP growth is expected to rebound ( as against its decline in the 3rd quarter of 2015, when it dropped to 2.84 per cent ), to about 3.5 per cent, if, as he put it, “the right mix of fiscal and monetary policies are put in place to stimulate the economy and attract domestic and foreign investments.” He said while the recovery is expected to be driven by increase in government expenditure, the growth in oil sector may be constrained still by low price and investment drive.

    He said the exchange rate volatility is expected to persist fuelling high inflation of about 10-11 per cent, stating however that correction towards Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) in the form of exchange rate adjustment is likely in the first quarter of  2016, suggesting that this will reduce the pressure on external reserves.

    Yusuf drew attention to the deplorable state of access roads to the Lagos Ports, saying the subsisting situation has resulted in negative contribution to business as it has lead to congestion at the ports resulting from the delay in the evacuation of cargo, high demurrage paid by importers to Terminal Operators and Shipping Companies as a result of delays [which were not their own making] in the clearance and evacuation of cargo in the ports and high cost of transportation for evacuating cargo, among other challenges,

    He urged the Federal Government to fix these roads as a matter of  urgency, in addition to the completion of the Trailer Park within the vicinity of  the Tincan Island Port.

  • Industrial revolution plan won’t deliver, soon, says LCCI

    Industrial revolution plan won’t deliver, soon, says LCCI

    The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LLCI), Mr Muda Yusuf has said the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) is not something that is structured to begin to deliver results immediately, rather the plan is a long term plan.

    He said  the good thing is that it would bring into focus very important issues that could help to propel the  country’s industrialisation drive.

    “The plan is a long-term plan. But it is not something that is structured to begin to deliver results immediately. That is my own understanding of it. It is like a vision of where you want to be in terms of industrialisation.

    “But generally, I think it is a very good plan because if you look at the composition of the members of the Presidential Advisory Committee, it is made up of some very critical stakeholders.

    “And from what I have heard, they have also been given quite a reasonable license to operate and advice the government at the highest level. And some members of key economic ministries are also there. Ministers of key economic ministries are also members of the committee. There is also this inter-ministerial angle that will facilitate all the things that they need to achieve. So, I think it is a good idea,” Muda said.

    He said the challenges facing manufacturers in the country are multi-faceted and would require a holistic appraisal and a strong determination by the government to bring the manufacturing sector out of the wood.

  • Industrial capacity utilisation low, says LCCI

    The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Muda Yusuf has said industrial capacity utilisation stands at between 40 and 45 per cent, arguing that it falls below the installed capacity of the industry.

    He said the business environment is not conducive for the growth of the sector, which would have absorbed a large percentage of the unemployed.

    He said: “We have issues with competitiveness, operating cost, infrastructure, finance, imported finish products, faking and counterfeiting. We have challenges of institution, challenges also come from tax and levies. These are the challenges we face and have been there for several decades and we don’t seem to be making much headway.

    “So, the capacity utilisation has not been satisfactory for a long time. We talk a lot about power, the power generation is not anything to celebrate. There have been a lot of motions made in that regard, reforms, privatisation efforts, and we have some in on-going plan in terms of changing the entire structure of the power sector. In terms of impact of quality of the power delivery, we are still talking about less than 4,000 mega watts as we speak.

    “The situation is very unpleasant. So, power is still the major problem in the industrial sector So, when you say the government has been doing a lot, they may have been doing a lot in terms of putting structure in place, but in terms of the ultimate impact on the end-user, the impact is not effective.”

    On duty and tariffs , he said because there is no sufficient enforcement of duties and tariffs, sometimes the government grants discriminatory waivers that create distortion in the economy.

    He said: “There cannot be two players in an economy; one is paying duties, the other is not, and that is a problem. The government needs to respect certain policies. There are always issues if tariffs are too high. If you have high tariff, you must have the capacity to enforce the high tariffs or you will create opportunities for smugglers as is happening to rice now.

    “When you raise tariff with the hope of improving local production, if you do not have the capacity to enforce the increase, it will create business for smugglers, Customs men and neighbouring ports. That is why you see that Cotonou port is always busy. There is a lot of investment. Nigeria loses a lot of investors because of our trade policy. Do not create a tariff policy you cannot enforce, otherwise you make nonsense out of it.”

    He said some of the items on prohibition list are all over the place, noting that when policies are not fully implemented, it creates business opportunity for saboteurs.

    He said there have been efforts at reforming the port, but a lot of manufacturers use the port to bring in their raw materials, adding that they had to contend with punitive cost of clearing the goods from the ports.

    He said: “There have been efforts at reforming the port, but if you talk to the port users, a lot of manufacturers use the port to bring in their raw materials, a lot of them still complain of the cost of clearing their cargoes.

    “They are still borrowing at the interest rate of between 20 and 25 per cent when their counterparts elsewhere are getting it for less than five per cent. That is still an issue. There is the problem of logistics. You have to move your products from raw materials to finished products from one part of the country to the other, and the cost is prohibitive. These are the major issues affecting them. Where the government has been doing something like the Railway, we know they are making efforts at that, but the impact of these efforts are yet to be felt.”