Nigeria@53: Lagos Chamber worries over fuel imports

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry(LCCI) has expressed concern over the country’s importation of petroleum products 53years after its independence.

Its President,Goodie Ibru,in his Independence message said Nigeria’s spend of billion dollars on importation of products denies the economy of the much needed foreign exchange and the tremendous multiplier effects which domestic refining of petroleum products would have offered the economy.

He said the economy is hindered by serious issues of infrastructure deficits, especially with regards to power supply, currently at less than 4000 megawatts; transportation, logistics, the quality of institutions, cost and access to funds etc.

All these,he said, have combined to create a burden of competitiveness for domestic enterprises.

He advised that Nigeria should accelerate necessary reforms to fix its infrastructure, diversify the economy, strengthen its institutions and reduce corruption.

According to him,there should be a correlation between wealth accumulation and value creation in order to entrench the right values in the society.

He said:’’As citizens of this great country, we need to constantly engage the leadership at all levels in order to improve governance quality. Democracy is a process, not an event. Therefore the citizens have a critical role to play in making the democratic process work for them’’.