No sane investor can source funds at 22% interest –Okolo, NACCIMA president

Dr. Simon Chukwuemeka Okolo, the National President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) is one man who believes the only way to move the Nigerian economy forward is for government to liberalize participation by the private sector in the running of the economy.
He says the Nigerian Private sector is currently faced with a plethora of challenges which have put the profitability and sustainability of many businesses in jeopardy.

“The problems are not new but they have persisted in the economic and investment space as the major burden inhibiting private sector growth”, he affirmed. According to him, The biggest burden of the Nigerian economy is the power sector. Our per capital energy consumption is one of the lowest in the world. This is the greatest obstacle to our economic development. The government needs to do something urgently about the power sector. Our energy sources need urgent diversification.

“Excessive concentration on gas powered stations poses a major risk to power sector and the economy. We should begin to quickly focus on other sources such as coal, solar, wind, hydro and nuclear energy sources,” he explained. He expressed a strong conviction that if the right political will, good governance, integrity, commitment to the ideals of the private sector led economy is encouraged; the nation’s socio-economic vision would be realized sooner than later.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, he reiterated earlier calls that politics should not be allowed to crowd out the economy, especially as we approach the election year, adding “a critical pillar of any democracy is a strong economy”, He spoke on Nigeria’s economic development for the past 50 years, Nigeria’s leadership debacle, late release of the budget, security crisis, possible remedy and other related matters.
Excerpts:

Story By CHARLES NWAOGUJI

Read more