Nationwide protests could cost Nigeria N400bn daily — CPPE warns
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has issued a warning about the potential economic fallout from the proposed nationwide protests.
The CPPE in a press release made available to Nigerian NewsDirect by its Director /CEO, Dr. Muda Yusuf, estimates that if the protests are not properly managed, they could result in a daily economic loss of N400 billion and this would exacerbate the already fragile state of the Nigerian economy, with severe consequences for both the country and its citizens.
The CPPE highlighted the significant risk of shutdowns and interruptions in crucial economic sectors stressing the threats it poses to the lives and properties of individuals, businesses and government assets.
The Organisation said, “There is a high risk of shut downs and disruptions in major sectors of the economy. “These include trade and commerce, manufacturing, entertainment, transportation, logistics, financial services, hospitality industry, agriculture, aviation, ICT, and construction sectors.
“This is in addition to risks to lives and properties of innocent citizens and corporate bodies. Safety of government assets are also at risk.”
Commending the Inspector General of Police for acknowledging citizen’s rights to protest and offering protection to genuine protesters, Dr. Yusuf urged protest organisers to collaborate with the police to ensure peaceful and orderly demonstrations stressing that the potency of protest messaging is not diminished by maintaining peace.
He said, “Meanwhile, we commend the Inspector General of the police for acknowledging the rights of the citizens to protest and offering to protect the genuine protesters.
“We plead with the organisers of the protests to cooperate with the police to make the planned protests peaceful and orderly. It is in the overall interest of all for this to happen. Peacefulness of a protest does not detract from the potency of its messaging.
“The protest organisers should not offer a platform for elements in the country who have criminal intentions and whose agenda is to inflict pains on innocent citizens and corporate organisations and destruction of public assets. We cannot fix a problem by promoting such negative tendencies.”
CPPE also advised that the protests should be short, ideally limited to one day, they cautioned that prolonged protests increase the likelihood of chaos and anarchy, as they create opportunities for hoodlums and other criminal elements to cause mayhem.
“Over 90 percent of employed Nigerians are in the informal sector. Employees in this space are dependent on daily income and any disruption to their economic activities beyond 24 hours could snowball into major social unrest. This underlines the country’s vulnerability to prolonged protests,” Yusuf noted.
Considering the potential economic impact, the CPPE urged the government to promptly execute its economic stabilisation plan to lower production costs and inflationary pressures.
They emphasised the necessity of significantly reducing trade costs, especially in cargo clearing, which is a primary contributor to inflation.
Additionally, the CPPE stressed the importance of fiscal prudence and transparency in the public sector to gain public trust.
Dr. Yusuf concluded by calling for responsible revenue management that does not place excessive burdens on citizens and corporate bodies, along with clear and appropriate government messaging that reflects the current economic conditions.
