FiBOP Urges FG To Address Issue Of Access To Credit For Informal Sector Operators, Facilitate Home Grown Financial Infrastructure….

L-R: Deputy President, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, (MWUN), Comrade Boniface Udoh; Chairman, Vindi Petroleum, Mr. Victor Kalu; President, Finance and Business Online Publishers (FiBOP), Mr. Charles Onwuatogwu ; representative of the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs, Comptroller Dera Nnadi ad the Deputy Secretary General, MWUN, Comrade Oniha Erazua, at 2024 FiBOP capacity building workshop in Lagos.

The Finance and Business Online Publishers (FiBOP), has issued a 14-point communique at the end of its 2024 capacity building workshop with the theme “Digital Innovation: Deepening Infrastructure for Efficient Financial Ecosystem” calling on the Federal Government to, among other things, address the issue of access to credit for informal sector operators.

They also urged the government to facilitate a home grown financial infrastructure that will bring in the estimated N36 trillion in the informal sector as part of the policy of financial inclusion.

Below is the full text of the communique:

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE FIBOP WORKSHOP HELD FROM OCTOBER 18 -20, 2024 AT ORCHID HOTELS LEKKI, LAGOS. THE EVENT WAS HELD UNDER THE THEME ‘DIGITAL INNOVATION: DEEPENING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EFFICIENT FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM. THE WORKSHOP DREW STAKEHOLDERS FROM THE BANKING, MARITIME, OIL AND GAS SECTORS AS WELL AS THE NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE (NCS). AT THE END OF THE EVENT, THE PARTICIPANTS AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

1) That government should facilitate a home grown financial infrastructure that will bring in the estimated N36 trillion in the informal sector as it harps on the policy of financial inclusion.

2) That the government should address and empower access to credit of the informal sector by reducing cost of credit  as it seeks ways to grow the internally generated revenue.

3)  That the Nigerian ports and its environs surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean should think of how to make the initial huge investment in infrastructure to harness water resources to generate its own electricity through investment in hydro and gas energy to power the ports and its environs.

 4) That there is the need to integrate all stakeholders into one digital e-customs modernisation project platform to achieve more success.

5) That the NCS digitisation process  is pivotal in enhancing the  efficiency of trade and revenue generation and collection and it will continually be a transformative force leveraging information technology (ICT) and digital solutions that revolutionise traditional trade processes.

 6 ) That there is the need for effective collaboration among the ministry of communication and digital technology, banks and other relevant government agencies to build improved digital infrastructure as a means of lowering costs and upgrading transactions efficiency in the banking sector.

7) The stakeholders also agreed that customs should sustain the authorised economic operators (AEO) programme in line with the world customs organization (WCO) SAFE FRAMEWORK of standards designed to enhance security in the supply chain while facilitating trade and reducing leakages caused by smuggling or underreporting while systems like NICIS II streamline import and export documentation and ensuring that duties are accessed in real time, fast tracking clearance and simplifying payment processes.

8) That costly digital infrastructure could be provided through the public -private partnership in NCS modernisation project  to enable it leverage on cutting edge technologies and expertise without overburdening the national budget.

9) That the cyber security challenges such as high costs and cyber security risks must be carefully managed to sustain the gains achieved through these initiatives.

 11) That digital infrastructure automation is key in import duty collection thus minimising manual errors and reducing time delays.

12) That there is the need for our home-grown financial infrastructure to pay attention to peoples’ needs by conducting people-needs assessment

13) That there is the need for establishing a study group in Nigeria’s ICT sector that will be responsible for researching and ascertaining the needs of Nigerians in the area of technology so that the needs of the people will be known and solutions provided.

14) That stakeholders task the government through the Nigerian  Communication commission to redouble efforts to eliminate down time or reduce to the barest  minimum the number of hours lost per downtime relative to countries with back up systems that bolster their network.