The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) has called on the Federal Government to put measures in place to liberate its private sector to do more businesses and generate revenues through payment of taxes.
Deputy Chairman of the CWEIC, Lord Hugo Swire, made the call in Lagos ,describing Nigeria as one of the great nations in the Commonwealth.
Lord Swire, who was also a former British parliamentarian and cabinet minister, also called on Nigerian government to ensure a free and transparent general elections in 2023 in order to sustain and strengthen democratic governance.
“I am aware you’ve got elections and I will urge people to take part in those elections. You know democracy is only sustainable if people participate, particularly younger people. And I think we really do need to encourage people to vote in these elections and that the elections should be free and transparent.”
Lord Swire, who is a member of the British Privy Council, is in Nigeria to raise awareness and mobilise delegates for the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit 2022 (CTIS), which is scheduled to hold between December 5 and 6, 2022, at Mansion House in London, United Kingdom, in partnership with the City of London.
“There will also be the 2022 Commonwealth High Commissioners’ Banquet, a Black Tie/National Dress event at London’s iconic Guildhall. We will also have our Global Advisory Council meeting, which is exclusive for our members, called Strategic Partners. There will also be the Commonwealth Legal Network (CLN) reception, held in partnership with one of our Strategic Partners, Irving Mitchell.
“We will also have the Gibraltar Dialogue at Gibraltar House in partnership with one of our strategic partners, Government of Gibraltar. Most of our strategic partners and top business leaders from Nigeria have been invited and they have confirmed their attendance and we look forward to an exciting engagement that will add great value to them and enable their businesses,” he said.
He described the Commonwealth as a strategic market of 2.6 billion people with projected $20 trillion GDP by 2027, stressing that anyone who ignores the Commonwealth as a marketplace is ignoring 2.6 billion people and a billion of this population is made up of middle class consumers that have money to spend.
“That is absolutely huge and very good reason people would need to look at the Commonwealth to do more trading.
“I am a firm believer in the power of the private sector. I think very often government does not have the answers, nor the skill set to answer all the questions. The government needs revenue and that revenue can only really be generated by the private sector,” he said.
The Commonwealth envoy also said Nigeria’s population would provide a huge marketplace for businesses that are involved in consumer goods, education and hospitality.
According to him, “there are opportunities for Commonwealth countries to trade with existing Nigerian companies, do joint ventures and to invest in the critical infrastructure. And that’s what we are about creating; the marketplace within the Commonwealth.”