The Enugu Chamber of Commerce Industries Mines and Agriculture, (ECCIMA) has expressed concern over the borrowing of N5 trillion naira to finance the deficit budget, saying it is time to save naira and the nation’s economy.
The President of the Chamber, Emeka Nwandu, made this known in Enugu at the 48th Annual General Meeting of the Chamber on Thursday.
Nwandu said that the debt burden of Nigeria economy, especially that of the continuous borrowing from the Central Bank has left the exchange rate on all time low.
According to him, “effort should be made to save naira and the economy”
His words:
“The Chamber is worried about the Federal Government plan to introduce N10 per litre tax on all non-alcoholic, carbonated and sweetened beverages through the Finance Act signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 31,2021.
“Sincerely we think we think that this tax if implemented would be counterproductive as reason stated by the Federal Government for imposing this tax does not outweigh the unemployment issues it would generate.
ECCIMA however, supported the raising revenues for health-related and other critical expenditures as stated by the government and suggest that high import duties should be placed on foreign manufactured drinks only, to encourage local beverage drink manufacturers.
“We appeal to the Federal Government to play with caution on the implementation of the Petroleum Industrial Act, (PIA) and the potential removal of subsidy planned for this year, 2022 to avoid inflationary pressures that could be detrimental to household income considering the slow pace of household income growth in Nigeria since 2015.
Earlier in an address, the governor of Enugu state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who was represented by his deputy, Cecelia Ezeilo, commended ECCIMA for being a critical stakeholder in the state and promised that Enugu state will continue to partner with ECCIMA to sharpen and promote economic activities in the state.
She urged ECCIMA to remain committed in the promotion of business and economic development as well as collaborating with various levels of government in boosting business and investment opportunities in Enugu State, the South east, and indeed Nigeria.
