The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said that two years into President Bola Tinubu administration in Nigeria has been characterised by bold macroeconomic reforms and significant policy shifts.
Dr Chinyere Almona, Director General, LCCI, said this on Thursday in Lagos in the LCCI’s second year anniversary message to President Tinubu.
Almona asserted that the bold reforms were aimed at correcting long-standing structural distortions.
She, however, noted that while these reforms came with significant short-term socio-economic costs, they offered the potential for long-term macroeconomic stability and inclusive growth.
“These measures have also imposed short-term hardships on businesses and households, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which remain the backbone of the Nigerian economy,” she said.
Addressing the country’s macroeconomic outlook, Almona noted that Nigeria had recorded Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.
She said the growth, while positive, was yet to be even as manufacturing and agriculture continued to struggle due to high production costs, insecurity, and logistical inefficiencies, limiting business competitiveness.
The LCCI also stated that inflation remained a critical challenge, at 23.71 per cent as at April 2025 due to fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange liberalisation.
She said while these reforms improved the fiscal outlook, it increased business operating expenses, particularly logistics, agro-processing, and retail SMEs.
Almona said the current macroeconomic landscape reflected a nation in transition.
According to her, on one hand, the government’s economic reform agenda has attracted some investors’ interest, revived engagement with multilateral institutions, and improved public finance efficiency.
‘There are also growing concerns about policy coordination.
“While monetary authorities target inflation, fiscal policy expands through borrowing and recurrent expenditure.
“This divergence has weakened the impact of economic interventions,” she said.
Almona said for the realisation of a better business environment, government must consider enhancing its policy coordination with greater synergy between monetary and fiscal policies.
She stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria, ministry of finance, and the development finance institutions should work in tandem to manage inflation without stifling productive investment.
The LCCI director general also noted the need to strengthen the Ease of Doing Business framework by streamlining regulatory processes, eliminating multiple taxation, and expanding digitisation of government services.
“We call for the full implementation of the tax reforms recently approved by the National Assembly and many other policy reforms.
” Government must scale up targeted SME Support by introducing concessionary loan schemes tied to output targets for agro-processing, tech innovation, and light manufacturing sectors.
“We also advocate improved infrastructure, expanded social safety nets, the promotion of local content and value addition, sustained reforms in the foreign exchange market and deepen stakeholder engagement,” she said.
She noted that Nigeria is at a pivotal juncture where the right mix of policy coherence, institutional reforms, and stakeholder collaboration could unlock the nation’s vast economic potentials.
