Private sector calls on NASS to improve commercial institutions

The National Assembly has been encouraged by the Organised Private Sector in Nigeria (OPSN) to increase the capacity of business institutions in the nation so they can prosper.

Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) are the two organisations that make up the OPSN.

The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the Nigeria Association of Small-Scale Industries (NASSI), and the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) are further organisations.

On behalf of OPSN, Mr. Segun Kadir, director general of MAN, made this statement to reporters on Tuesday in Abuja.

He claims that as a result of recent economic reform initiatives, the economy is going through significant macroeconomic shifts.

“We implore the National Assembly to put special emphasis on enhancing the Executive Agencies’ ability to perform their duties efficiently.

Additionally, he urged people “to abstain from acting in any way that would burden or undermine law-abiding businesses through redundant audits or regulations.”

Kadir, however, asserted that the nation will suffer economically as a result of the NASS’s “constant investigative hearings.”

The National Assembly does not have the legal authority to persistently meddle in the affairs of private business owners, he claimed.

Kadir stated that there were executive arm entities tasked with carrying out such duties.

According to him, the multiple forced flights made by business executives to attend the investigative sessions resulted in unwanted distractions, a loss of manpower, and a decline in system confidence.

“Members of organised firms have received a deluge of invitations and summonses from many Committees and Ad-hoc Committees of the National Assembly for various investigation hearings.

According to sections 88 and 89 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Senate and House of Representatives have that authority.

Since the 7th National Assembly, in 2012, “this has been a notable challenge,” he remarked.

According to Kadir, member-companies of the Ad-hoc Committee on Non-Remittance to the National Housing Fund and Utilisation of the Fund from 2011 to the present have lately received multiple letters from the committee.

He encouraged the Ad-hoc Committee to look into whether government ministries, departments, and agencies as well as private entities were in accordance with the Industrial Training Fund Act and other laws.

We appreciate the work done by the National Assembly’s numerous Committees and Ad-hoc Committees in looking into and performing oversight duties on Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, Kadir added.

“We believe that the Constitution’s sections 88 and 89, which the National Assembly Committees have cited, do not apply to private sector firms.

“Some of the consequences will include company closures in the nation and job losses for Nigerians, loss of money from taxes and levies collected from the businesses, instability, and a rise in insecurity, among other things.

The government’s numerous Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) duplicate their regulatory actions and tasks as a result of the action.

He claims that the MDAs’ powers, responsibilities, and authority have been transferred to the National Assembly, which also serves as the executive branch of government.

He continued, “We are convinced that this is not the legacy that the 10th National Assembly would like to leave.” (NAN)