Yemisi Izuora
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has predicted that the Nigerian economy would witness transformative growth in 2025.
The President of LCCI, Mr. Gabriel Idahosa, in a New Year statement on the economy, which reviewed Nigeria’s economic performance in 2024 and projected the country’s economic outlook for 2025, however tied this growth to
decisive and strategic policy actions of Government if specifically formulated and implemented to address lingering economic challenges.
“Looking ahead to 2025, the manufacturing sector is projected to grow moderately, driven by anticipated improvements in infrastructure, enhanced access to foreign exchange, and government policies aimed at promoting local production and reducing reliance on imports.
“Addressing structural bottlenecks, fostering innovation, and expanding public-private partnerships will be critical for unlocking the sector’s growth potential,” Idahosa said.
He said that the agricultural sector is expected to grow tremendously in 2025 and would be supported by government’s initiatives to enhance food security, improve rural infrastructure, and expand agricultural value chains.
“Strengthening climate resilience and ensuring access to affordable financing will be crucial to unlocking the sector’s full potential and ensuring its pivotal role in Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda,” he added.
He observed that Nigeria’s manufacturing sector experienced sluggish growth in 2024 and contributed approximately 8.9 per cent to the country’s GDP, as it faced significant headwinds, including high production costs driven by inflation, foreign exchange volatility, and energy shortages.
He however, noted that despite these challenges, sub-sectors like food processing and textiles showed resilience and were supported by domestic demand.
The LCCI, therefore, urged the Federal Government to prioritise the promotion of price stability, improvement in ease of doing business, fiscal sustainability and debt management in order to unlock sustainable economic growth and improve the well-being of Nigerians in 2025.
The chamber also advised Government to tackle unemployment, empower youths, enhance food and energy security and advance trade and investment.
“Businesses must embrace innovation, digital transformation, and sustainability as growth strategies, while collaboration between the private and public sectors is critical to overcoming challenges and attracting investment.
“We need investments in the telecoms sector to drive the desired digital revolution, oil and gas investments to boost crude production levels, and the power sector to enhance power generation to support economic activities.
“We expect to see some ease in fuel prices in the first quarter as the price wars continue and a possible easing in interest rates in the second quarter of 2025,” the Chamber said.
Reviewing the 2024 activities, Idahosa said: “The Nigerian economy experienced a tumultuous period marked by persistent rising prices, burdening interest rates, high cost of production, low demand, and an uncertain macroeconomic policy direction.
“It stands at a critical juncture, presenting hope for possible transformative growth, which requires decisive and strategic policy actions to address lingering challenges.”
According to him, “Inflation is expected to ease as monetary policies take effect, with trade, agriculture, and manufacturing poised to drive job creation vital for addressing unemployment and poverty.”
He, however, stated that closing infrastructure gaps should remain a top priority of the government, which would necessitate innovative funding models and enhanced public-private partnerships to accomplish.
Idahosa also tasked the federal government to do more to improve the country’s business environment in order to attract more direct foreign investments, especially in power (and in renewable and CNG projects), oil and gas, and telecommunications sectors.
He cautioned that even though Nigeria’s public debt had been projected to grow modestly in 2025, there was still a need for a delicate balance between borrowing for growth and maintaining debt sustainability.
He said: “Implementing fiscal discipline, diversifying revenue sources, and attracting private investments through public-private partnerships will be critical to managing debt while fostering economic development.”