The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) have disclosed plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together for the future growth of the country’s capital market.
LCCI’s president, Dr Michael Olawale-Cole, made this known when LCCI’s management paid a courtesy call to the NGX, where it also closed the stock market session with the ceremonious ringing of a bell.

Olawale-Cole explained that the visit to the NGX would have action plans, timelines and agreements that would ensure both parties work closely to have a more vibrant operation. He said the chamber was strong in advocacy trades and remained the authentic voice of the organised private sector in the country.

“I have been to the New York and London Stock Exchanges and what the NGX is doing here is phenomenal. Nigeria has a lot of good institutions and what we simply need is good leadership that will support these institutions with good regulations and good governance. With good governance, Nigeria has the potential to do four times the current GDP and not just become the first in Africa but be amongst the top ten strongest GDPs globally. We have what it takes, we just need good leadership,” he stressed.

He said they are hopeful that the federal government will take economic steps that will help the private sector thrive, grow the country’s wealth, rescue more people from multidimensional poverty, get more young people employed, reduce the need to travel for greener pastures and get the industries to work optimally so they can employ more people and grow the country’s GDP.

He went on to add that the LCCI had in the last few years, lamented the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio and urged the government to consider local possibilities rather than borrowing externally.

“There are some government assets that could be used as collateral rather than borrowing. The government can also enter into partnerships with private companies on a 60:40 ratio basis and it will be a private sector but government-driven initiative. Government has no business in business, businesses should be private-sector driven and can use government assets to create wealth for the country. If we develop our local capital market properly, we can borrow locally as against borrowing from abroad, which often carries stiff penalties when we default.”

He urged everyone to join hands to grow the local market and the private sector should use the assets that are currently wasting away to help the country’s GDP.

Praising the chamber for being instrumental in deepening the number of listings currently on the stock exchange, NGX president, Temi Popoola said they are working on improving advocacy with the government. “We want the government to become more aware of what the private sector can do in helping to drive many of the solutions they are proffering, including wealth creation, improving unemployment, shoring up the GDP and FX and the capital market is key to all these.”

He added that they are working with the LCCI to see how they can deepen these advocacy efforts. “Many companies are not listed on the exchange and we are working on getting them listed. We want to improve financial literacy, collaborative efforts, and knowledge sharing among other things.”