The National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has expressed its commitment to the protection of the environment.
The organisation, in a statement yesterday by its President, Mrs Alaba Lawson, to mark world environment day, said: “The annual world Environment Day is a period to remind ourselves that the care of our environment is indeed our joint responsibility because the environment is the base of life and economic activities.
“In our country today, the various environmental problems are there for us to see: Air pollution is reflected in our major cities across the country, land degradation, municipal solid wastes across the country, climate change, which is affecting all areas of our lives including agricultural productivity. etc. All of these require our attention and call for concerted action.
“We at NACCIMA want to use this opportunity to restate our commitment to the protection of our environment and pursuit of a sustainable production pattern, for sustainable development of our economy.
“We call for closer ties between government, the chambers movement and Organised Private Sector.
“Steps must be taken by states to strengthen their capacity to implement our National Policy on Environment, especially as it relates to the specific challenges of environment they face because the grassroots level is where the impact of the environment problems are felt most. “
This year’s World Environmental Day has the theme: ‘Beating Plastic Pollution.’
The National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (NACCIMA), has called a more judicious and impactful use of the Ecological Fund, to tackle the various environmental challenges.
NACCIMA, through its President, Iyalode Lawson, said the body was ready to work with all stake holders, in particular, the Federal Ministry of Environment, Climate Change Unit, Agencies such as National Environment Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Civil Society Groups for the effective implementation of our National Policy on the environment, to achieve this.
Lawson, in a statement to mark this year’s World Environment Day celebration holding today, themed: “Beating Plastic Pollution,” said the celebration is a period to remind “ourselves that the care of our environment is indeed our joint responsibility because the environment is the base of life and economic activities.”
She noted the various environmental problems to air pollution, as reflected in major cities across the country, land degradation, Municipal solid wastes across the country, climate change which is affecting all areas of lives including agricultural productivity.
“We at NACCIMA wants to use this opportunity to restate our commitment to the protection of our environment and pursuit of a sustainable production pattern, for sustainable development of our economy. We call for closer ties between Government, the Chambers movement and Organised Private Sector,” Lawson assured.
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has decried the late passage of 2018 Appropriation Bill by the National Assembly almost six months after.
In a statement by its President, Iyalode Alaba Lawson, the body said the late passage and President’s assent of the budget hinders efforts to resuscitate the economy and ensure well-being of Nigerians.
While commending the National Assembly for doing a thorough job on the bill, Lawson said it is important the lawmakers and Executive work closely to ensure quick passage of the budget proposal.
The statement reads: “NACCIMA advises the executive to expedite action in reviewing the document passed by the National Assembly and its signing into law as well as judicious implementation of the budget for maximum impact of Nigerians.”
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture ( NACCIMA )has joined the rest of the nation, the United Nations and indeed the international community to mourn the passing away of Professor Adebayo Adedeji, a prominent and illustrious Nigerian and African at the age of 87.
In a press release signed by its President Iyalode Alaba Lawson, she described the late Professor Adedeji as an intellectual giant in his field of expertise, economic and development planning. She added that he did not confine himself to the academic environment alone. He bridgedthe gap between town and gown in several ways.
According to Lawson, he played a prominent role as Commissioner for Economic and Development planning in Nigeria in the 1970s andwas key in post civil warreconstruction in Nigeria under the “3 R” initiative, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reintegration., a bold and innovative post conflict programme to heal the wounds of the Nigerian Civil war.
“The late Professor Adedeji also played prominent role in regional integration by helping to consolidate the Africa DevelopmentBank as a major player in financing development in Africa.
He ensured establishment of the Nigerian Trust Fund at the ADB which has proved to be of immense value in finance development activities in many African Countries at confessionary lending rates.
His vision of the importance regional economic integration is also reflected in the role he played in the formation and eventual take off of ECOWAS.
His contributions to economic growth and Development of Africa is also well known especially when he served as UN Under Secretary General and ExecutiveSecretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Abba’ she noted.
Even in retirement, Lawson said the late Adedeji continued to churn out intellectual ideas for enduring solutions to economic and development problems of Nigeria, Africa and the developing world which he served so diligently. through his Centre , the African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies ACDESS located in IjebuOde where intellectuals, thinkers and other stakeholders regularly gather to deliberate on solutions and make policy recommendation to tackle contemporarychallenges.
National President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Iyalode Alaba Lawson has urged the Federal Government to turn the country’s 198 million population into an asset.
Speaking on the recent announcement, The national president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Iyalode Alaba Lawson has urged the Federal Government to turn the country’s 198 million population into an asset. by the NPC, Lawson said that Nigeria’s Population is now estimated to be million thus making our country as the 7th largest in the world.
“Population could be an asset, but if not planned it equally poses a lot of challenges in various areas like provision of infrastructure, adequate health care system and service; an appropriate educational system and employment for the populace,” she said.
“Therefore, in meeting these challenges,the NACCIMA national President said it require proper planning by Government at all levels and close collaboration with other stakeholders.
She disclosed that NACCIMA as the voice of business and a national body engaged in promoting activities of the private sectors in all major sectors is ready to work with Governments at all levels to ensure that the Nigerian population becomes an asset.
Mr Adetokunbo Kayode, President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), says the management of the funds for Small, Medium and Enterprises (SMEs) by banks in Nigeria is a weak link in the financing of small businesses.
He said this during his inauguration as the 10th President of the Chamber in Abuja on Tuesday.
“We all appreciate government’s interest to support SMEs, especially on the issue of funding. But the management of the SME funds by the banks is a very huge issue, a weak link in the chain.
“We all know our banks are not structured to fund SMEs. The organized private sector is therefore ready to help canvass and develop new concepts of alternate funding mechanism for SMEs. This will include finance leasing, peer certification for scrutiny of facility for SMEs,” he said.
Kayode also called on the Federal Government to fully operate the National Economic Council and urged state governments to replicate same.
According to him, that is the body that will help plan the economy, where critical policies are determined.
He said this would bring the era of reactionary and ad hoc policies to an end.
He advised that government at all levels should imbibe the ideal that governance was for the welfare of the people, and that to achieve that, there must be a national vision.
He explained that vision 20:20:20 died the day it was launched because the government did not conceive, birth and own it.
“A government must set up its own high ideals and with passion, chart a mission course to achieve that vision,” he said.
The ACCI president called for an end to the emphasis by government agencies on revenue collection.
“All these agencies have their core mandates; we want agencies in 2018 and beyond to concentrate on their core function which is to support enterprises to grow, rather than their unbridled demand for payment of revenues.
“All these make doing business very harrowing and unprofitable. It is unacceptable for a people to pay for compliance with the law. Agencies ought to make it easier, cheaper, to obey the law, then make breaking the law very expensive,” he said.
Kayode said the chamber would move from an amorphous organogram to a structured organisation. According to him, the chamber will set up a secretariat with four centres, including business entrepreneurship, skills and technology centre and the Abuja trade and convention centre.
Mrs Iyalode Lawson, the National President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), also called for support from members to achieve its planned goals for the benefits of the association.
Lawson advised the president to carry out his vision through public policy advocacy tools and in-depth knowledge.
“The association believes that with the inauguration of the president, the chamber will achieve more remarkable increase in prestige, membership and finances.
“I look forward to the establishment of new ventures while existing ones continue to thrive,” she said.
Lawson said NACCIMA would support Abuja Chamber to advocate for policies and programmes that could benefit the private sector and encourage the growth and development of enterprises in Nigeria.
Members of the Turkish Electro-Technology Exporters’ Association( TET )), a professional body representing over 7,500 member companies, on Tuesday expressed its readiness to increase their electrical products in the Nigerian market.
Mr Mehmet Kavaklioglu,Vice Chairman of the TET Board, who spoke on behalf of the association, said in Lagos that Nigeria was an expanding business destination.
Kavaklioglu, who led a trade mission of 23 Turkish electrical manufacturing companies to Nigeria, said that the companies were prepared to take advantage of Nigeria’s increasing population for Turkish electrical products.
“We are really targeting some world markets for our electrical products, and Nigeria is one of our target markets.
“We really see new business opportunities in Nigeria, as a country with big population and a large market for our products.
“We do know that there are already some of our Turkish electrical manufacturing companies doing businesses in Nigeria.
“But this is not enough. We are set to increase our business potential and opportunities that currently exist in the Nigerian electrical industry,’’ he said.
Kavaklioglu said companies on the trade mission represented Turkish companies drawn from consumer electronics and appliances,
lighting, cables, electrical transmission and distribution equipment, industrial automation products and specialised cables.
The Vice Chairman said that the trade mission, which had visited Nigeria in 2011, visited again to meet with Nigerians through Business-to- Business interactions.
He said the trade mission had also interacted with different Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, as well as with stakeholders in Nigeria’s electrical distribution companies.
According to him, Turkey’s fast-growing electronics, white goods and electrical components sector annually exports over 10 billion dollars in goods to the global market.
The National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has beefed up trade ties with Turkey, the 18th largest economy in the world.
The trade volume between the two countries was at about $2.7billion in 2016.
Iyalode Alaba Lawson is the first female president of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and also the leader of the women’s group known as NACCIMA Women’s Group (NAWORG). In this interview with YETUNDE OLADEINDE, the NACCIMA boss talks about government interventions for women entrepreneurs, her achievements and challenges as NACCIMA president and more.
What role can women play to improve the economy? We must not look down on the role that women are going to play. The women are the architect of the micro economy in this great country. They are the ones moving the GDP of the country with either their formal or informal trading that they are doing. And so, we are the architect and the engine room of the growth of the economy and that is why we say that when they produce, we must exhibit what they produce.
Women cannot be underestimated. We signed an MOU with FIIRO and our women would be trained to be well advanced, even in ICT or in any research that is going on in FIIRO. We thank FIIRO DG and her team for giving us that opportunity. This collaboration is a good one.
It is by exhibiting what they produce so that people would know about it and then patronise them. When they produce more, they create jobs and when they create jobs, they alleviate poverty. Definitely, you see that it is interwoven. It is a chain that cannot be broken.
This is the eight edition of NAWORG International Women Exhibition (NIWEX), what are some of the achievements over the years?
There are many. More women are now into entrepreneurship; more are being trained and some of them are moving from informal to formal and we have seen so much progress. They are enjoying the funding from Bank of Industry (BoI). Even the market women amongst us are benefiting because we reach down to the grassroots and not only to the elites. Some of the women are moving from their informal trading and they are making shea butter products. They go into the villages and some of the progress can be seen in the packaging and branding. Those doing tie and dye are enjoying the money from BoI. Each group was given N8 million and we formed them into cooperatives. All these are the gains and the success stories of NACCIMA business women’s group.
What are some of the challenges?
The main challenge is the funding but I want to thank this present government. Even our market women get loan from them. That loan has even made it better for the women and they are now using their phones to transfer money and refund the money back to BoI. So, you can see that it has so many advantages. THE loan is between N50,000 or N100,000. If your first pay is N50,000, then the next one would be N100,000.
If you finish paying the N100,000 loan within the stipulated time, they will give you moratorium and this is very good. If you pay your N100, 000, then you are entitled to N200, 000, just like that. And from their cooperatives they are entitled to N500,000 and all this makes the economy to grow at the lower level and I am very happy with this and I am grateful that our women are coming out to fulfil their dreams. By doing this, they would help their husbands and ensure that the homes, the communities, and extended families are taken care of.
What can government do to empower these women?
We are really working on it and I must tell you that the government has been very positive by giving them intervention funds that helps. Most of the problems that the women in businesses face are funding, financing and government has been trying by putting in so many intervention funds. However, in the implementation of these funds, there are so many bottlenecks in getting these funds and we want the government to look into this. They must make sure that these intervention funds reach the hands of those medium small entrepreneurs to enable them to fund their businesses and meet the demands of the people.
What is your advice to women who are not economically empowered?
I would like them to go and be entrepreneurs. Even if you are selling water, you are an entrepreneur. If you are making pots or involved in petty trading, it is the same thing. I want them to go out and learn a skill and use their talents. They should not bury their talents but use it. Everyone is blessed with a talent; my talent is different from yours. But if we can collate it, it would move the economy. They should go out and speak to some of them and we will mentor them because they need mentoring and they would be of good use to themselves and they won’t depend on anybody.
You are known for mentoring women, what advice do you have for Nigerian women?
If you are in position, I want you to help the downtrodden ones. It is not just money, some people just need advice, and some need closeness to give them direction. Some need just a little word of encouragement. I want them to open their doors to others to gain. I want them to open their doors for mentorship. Mentoring differs because when someone gets close to you, then you would know what he or she wants.
Lawson
It is on that basis that you can help and as I said earlier with all the intervention funds, if it is money, you can then tailor such into a cooperative or into something else. I am trying to restructure the Federation of Business Women in West Africa (FEBWE) and I am looking for those who can use their hands in ICT, so that they can compare and compete favourably with other countries in West Africa. We have about 16 countries and we are going to be moving together. It was launched in Ghana a few years ago and this is the Nigerian chapter. I am the chairperson and I am mentoring those who can use ICT because they would be dealing with organisations like UNIDO, UNWOMEN, ANWBN and others. So, as women, we must compare and contrast to see what we can do to uplift one another. Then at the end we can sit down and see them growing. This is usually my joy when I see them growing. I love this so much and I do it quietly sometimes. But sometimes, a number of these women come out and say that you have mentored me. I always feel good at such moments. Let’s talk about some memorable moments as NACCIMA president
It was a great day at my investiture. Just before I was nominated and elected, there had been different challenges especially when you have had 18 national presidents who are all men. So, coming out as the first woman national president, I would have passed through challenges. I have just spent six months but my success stories are there and I thank God for giving me that opportunity. Let others talk about my achievements, don’t let me do that. Let them compare and ask what has Alaba Lawson done that has made her to be head and shoulders above others.
One of the first things that I did that I can talk about is the first-ever NACCIMA Conference in Abuja. It is going to be an annual event and it is going to be a great one for NACCIMA, at least to know that we can move the economy forward. It was great working with Pascal Dozie, his wife and the team. Here, many learnt how to move our economy through agriculture. Let’s go back to tilling the land but in a mechanised way. If our forefathers could till the land and build the first tallest building in Africa then with the proceeds from Cocoa, what are we waiting for? Let’s get back to the farms and ensure that agric is business and we can move the economy forward now that oil is no longer viable.
The Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has launched another phase of its capacity building programme by training over 40 Nigerian women in financial literacy, in Lagos.
The financial literacy project, which was in collaboration with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), was initiated to equip the business owners with interactive online learning packages, financial literacy tools and major mechanisms for upgrading and expanding existing enterprises.
The Chief Technical Adviser, UNIDO-ITPO, Mr. Stanislaw Pigon, said: “Aside from the training, we will also offer the entrepreneurs business counseling and mentoring programmes aimed at facilitating enterprise growth. Our online tools are open to the entrepreneurs as they are expected to ask questions or seek for clarifications. From the perspective of the MSMEs, the most important factor is that they are ‘bank-ready’. This means we need to offer them some simpler tools to present the financial aspects of their business ideas.
“We are facing a problem of financial literacy, starting with university graduates, who cannot find jobs, to existing, even successful Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, which cannot find resources to grow.”
The Head, UNIDO-ITPO, Nigeria, Ms. Adebisi Olumodimu, explained that the workshop was designed to support the Federal Government in its bid to diversify the economy, empower business owners, especially women, across the agriculture, manufacturing, and food and beverages sectors and ensure they are equipped with best practices tools for the development of value-added services.
The Organised Private Sector ( OPS ) has urged the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the problem of bad access roads to Apapa ports in Lagos which is affecting the cost of businesses.
The OPS spoke on Wednesday at a conference in Lagos on the Petroleum Industry Bill and the impact of bad roads in Apapa on businesses.
The OPS comprises Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association ( NECA ), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria ( MAN ) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture ( NACCIMA ).
The others are the National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises ( NASME ) and the National Association of Small Scale Industries ( NASSI ).
Mr Segun Oshinowo, Director-General of NECA, said many companies would close shop if Apapa roads remained bad.
“The OPS is concerned about access roads to the Apapa ports. It is affecting overhead costs of businesses of our members.
“Preventable accidents as a result of the bad roads lead to huge loss of revenues; loss of jobs and closure of businesses. This will further worsen trade facilitation,’’ Oshinowo said.
He advised the government to create alternative roads, put measures in place to free traffic and proffer lasting solutions to gridlocks in Apapa.
On the Petroleum Industry Bill, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, Director-General of MAN, advocated creation of two regulatory bodies for the petroleum industry as against one body recommended in the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill ( PIGB ) before the National Assembly.
Ajayi-Kadiri said that there was the need to avoid “costly mistakes’’ that could work against reforming the sector.
According to him, one of such mistakes is a provision in the PIGB for a single regulator for the industry.
He said that two regulatory bodies – one for the upstream and another for the downstream – would serve the sector better.
“A cursory look at some of the provisions of the PIGB revealed the likely emergence of the Petroleum Regulatory Commission (PRC) – an omnibus commission that will be empowered to regulate the entire petroleum sector.
“We do not share the view of the Assembly on creation of a regulator for a sector that is not homogenous in its activities and deliverables.
“The idea of a single regulator for the whole sector runs contrary to industry standards which by default already provides for an upstream and downstream regulator, ‘’ Ajayi-Kadiri said.
The director-general of MAN said that the responsibilities of the proposed commission was too wide as it cut across various value chains in a key sector of the economy.
He commended the National Assembly for taking steps to reform the petroleum industry through the PIGB, and called for accelerated actions.
