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Traders urge governments to improve business environment

By on January 16, 2015

A coalition of markets and traders’ associations in Lagos have called on both the federal and state governments to initiate policies that would improve the business environment in the state.

Representatives of the coalition,  which comprises the Association of Igbos in Commerce, Nnamdi Nwigwe; Traders Right Protection Initiative, Chris Okpala; Amalgamated Traders Association, Lagos, Viginus Odinaka; and Market Leaders Association of Nigeria, Charles Obih, stated this in a communique at the end of an extraordinary general meeting held in Lagos on Wednesday.

They stressed the need for the governments to create conducive business environments so as to maximise output from their trade in order to boost economic activities.

However, the group commended some of the programmes introduced by the Lagos and federal governments to encourage commercial activities and support small and medium scale enterprises.

“It is also important to note that on the other hand, some government policies and activities at the state and federal levels have dealt a deadly blow on the business and sources of survival of most traders.

“We totally support the recent move by the federal government to diversify the economy by investing in other non-oil sectors in order to salvage and grow the nation’s economy in response to the dwindling oil prices, we have set machineries in motion in our sector, to contribute towards revamping the Nigerian economy,” they added.

As the 2015 elections draw nearer, the group encouraged all traders of voting age to ensure full participation in the process by collecting their permanent voter’s cards (PVCs) in the INEC offices in their local government areas and also vote.

They also called on its members across the country to maintain peace and order before, during and after the electioneering period and also to resist the ploy of politicians and their supporters to foment trouble.

“We also implore political office holders/seekers, politicians and their supporters to guard their utterances and actions that can overheat the polity or plunge the country into crisis.

“Our attention has been drawn to the activities of political jobbers and contractors who seem to connive with some dubious elements from the trading community parading themselves as leaders of market organisations under different names and have been defrauding unsuspecting politicians and political office seekers in the name of mobilising market associations and traders.

“We therefore advise all stakeholders in the political system to beware of their antics,” they added.

 

[ThisDay]