By Merit Ibe
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has for fiscal incentives to be put in place to boost investment in renewable energy in line with the energy mix objective of government, saying such this could be in the areas of tax incentives and waivers of import duty on renewable energy equipment.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CPPE, Dr Muda Yusuf, made the remark following the 3.54 percent GDP growth in the second quarter of 2022, which he said marked the seventh consecutive quarterly GDP growth since the exit from recession in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Yusuf cited NBS report which identified sectors that experienced contraction to include the oil refining which was 42 per cent; rail transportation 38 per cent; crude oil and gas 11.8 per cent; metal ores 25.5 per cent; electricity vehicle assemblies 7.8 per cent; electricity and air-conditioning 7 per cent; motion pictures and music 6 per cent and textiles 2.8 per cent.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Nigerian economy has been out of recession since the fourth quarter of 2020, the CEO noted that sectors like crude oil and gas, oil refining, textiles, electricity, gas and steam engines, were still in recession.
He noted that many businesses were struggling to cope with the numerous challenges and shocks to the economy, adding that citizens were also experiencing serious economic hardship as a result of the galloping inflation and the impact on purchasing power.