Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that no government can fully understand the economy if it fails to engage employers and the private sector.
He also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to removing bureaucratic bottlenecks and digitising government processes to ensure that reforms initiated in Abuja are felt by businesses across Lagos, Kano, Aba and other parts of the country without unnecessary delays.
Shettima made the remarks on Monday at the 5th Nigerian Employers’ Summit in Abuja. He was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on General Duties and former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar.
According to the Vice President, the summit comes at a crucial time as Nigeria faces a defining moment in its economic journey.
“It is timely because reform requires honest conversations about production costs, access to credit, exchange rates, taxation and investment,” he said.
“It is necessary because the private sector cannot compete on sentiment. It competes on functional infrastructure, predictable policies, fair taxation and reliable energy.”
Shettima praised President Bola Tinubu for taking difficult but necessary decisions to reposition the economy, noting that successful economies are built on bold reforms rather than chance.
He said countries that prosper combine foresight with the courage to implement tough policies.
“Foresight without courage produces fine speeches and empty outcomes, while courage without foresight leads to motion without progress. What a nation requires is the marriage of both—the vision to see what must change and the resolve to make those changes, even when the path is difficult,” he said.
Welcoming participants to the summit, Shettima described the Nigerian Employers’ Summit as a leading platform for promoting enterprise sustainability, job creation and inclusive economic growth.
He commended the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) for its nearly seven decades of advocacy and partnership with government, labour unions, development partners and the business community.
Reflecting on the administration’s economic reforms, the Vice President said President Tinubu inherited an economy weighed down by structural challenges, including an unsustainable fuel subsidy regime, a fragmented foreign exchange market, weak government revenue and declining investor confidence.
He said the administration chose the difficult path of reform instead of postponing critical decisions.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda was designed to address these realities. We cannot build prosperity on economic distortions, attract investment with an uncertain foreign exchange market or create jobs when businesses are burdened by multiple taxation, poor logistics and insecurity,” he said.
According to him, restoring macroeconomic stability was the administration’s first priority because businesses require a stable economic environment to plan, invest and expand.
He explained that fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange reforms were aimed at creating a more transparent, market-driven economy while freeing resources for productive investments.
Shettima added that ongoing fiscal and tax reforms are intended to reduce the number of taxes, harmonise tax administration, protect vulnerable groups, support small businesses and encourage compliance through lower tax rates and a broader tax base.
He stressed that the private sector expects government to create an enabling environment for business by eliminating unnecessary delays and regulatory uncertainties.
“Every delayed approval and every unclear regulation increases the cost of doing business. That is why we remain committed to reducing bottlenecks and digitising government processes so that reforms announced in Abuja are experienced by businesses in Lagos, Kano, Aba and across the country without delay,” he said.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Director-General of NECA, Adewale Oyerinde, said the summit has, over the past five years, consistently generated practical policy recommendations that have been useful to successive governments.
