Why FG must create legal framework to protect investors, employers -CPPE

...calls for policy to curb industrial actions in energy, transport, other sectors

By Seun Ibiyemi

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the Federal Government to urgently create legal frameworks to protect investors and employers.

This comes on the heel of the recent face-off between Dangote Refinery and PENGASSAN.

In its latest policy brief titled “Protecting Investors and Employers: A National Policy Imperative,” the Centre warned that Nigeria’s investment climate remains fragile due to weak legal protection for investors, unrestrained union actions, regulatory unpredictability, and bureaucratic inefficiencies.

According to the CPPE’s Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muda Yusuf, these challenges have eroded investor confidence, discouraged capital inflows, and slowed the country’s economic growth.

Yusuf said despite the crucial role investors and employers play in job creation, tax generation, and innovation, there is no comprehensive legal framework protecting their rights and investments. 

He stressed that the absence of such safeguards leaves those who create jobs vulnerable to disruptions, particularly from arbitrary regulatory actions and industrial disputes.

“Protecting investors and employers is not a privilege, it is a national economic imperative,” Yusuf stated. “Without those who take risks to create wealth, there can be no sustained growth, no employment, and no national prosperity.”

The policy brief proposed the enactment of an Investor and Employer Protection Act to codify investor rights and provide penalties for unlawful actions such as intimidation, coercion, or unauthorized shutdowns. 

It also recommended the establishment of an Independent Investment Ombudsman to mediate disputes between investors and government agencies, and a Business Rights Tribunal for swift resolution of investor-related cases.

Other recommendations include designating strategic sectors such as energy, transport, health, and ICT as essential services to curb disruptive industrial actions, strengthening the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP), and mandating audited disclosures by labour unions to promote transparency.

The CPPE also urged the federal government to ensure policy consistency by conducting investor impact assessments before major policy changes, defining the limits of regulatory powers, and publishing a rolling five-year policy roadmap to enhance predictability.

Yusuf said the proposed framework, if implemented, would “restore investor confidence, stimulate private-sector job creation, promote transparency, and strengthen Nigeria’s global competitiveness.”

He added that striking a balance between the rights of investors and those of workers was vital for economic stability and national security.

“This is not about weakening labour unions,” he clarified. “It is about ensuring fairness, due process, and a secure environment for those who create jobs and wealth.”
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