Industry stakeholders have urged government regulatory agencies to de-emphasise revenue generation and focus more on enterprise facilitation in a bid to ensure industrial and national development.

This call was made by a panel of discussants during the recently-concluded Nigeria Employers Summit 2022, themed, ‘The Private Sector as Engine for National Development’. The summit, which was organised by the Nigeria Employer Consultative Association, was held in Abuja, on June 21.

Setting the tone for the panel discussion on the topic ‘Building a Collaborative Regulatory Environment for Enterprise Competitiveness, Job Creation and National Development’, the Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said that the duty of the regulator was not only ensuring that manufacturers did not exploit consumers or take undue advantage of them, but to also protect the regulated industries.

“It is also the duty of the regulator to ensure that we have a situation whereby the industry player feels very safe, is legally protected, its assets and investments are secure, and is guaranteed survival. The people also must be protected from manipulation and unfair treatment by the industry,” he remarked.

He further said that the regulator must also see to the long-term interest of the industry, noting that the paucity of funds by the government to maintain regulatory agencies was often responsible for the aggressive and inordinate internal revenue drive.

Delivering a policy paper at the session, the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, represented by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, SEC, Ibrahim Boye, said that the SEC had continued to strive to fulfil its mandate in creating an enabling environment for market operations.

Also, in an address at the session, the External Affairs Director, BAT West and Central Africa, Odiri Erewa-Meggison, lauded NECA and MAN for the effective representation of the private sector, while calling for a greater collaborative regulatory environment between the organised private sector and government agencies.