Dare Babalola
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has emphasised the urgent need for a comprehensive policy framework to safeguard the interests of investors and employers in Nigeria.
According to the CPPE, the current business environment is marred by uncertainty and institutional weakness, which erodes investor confidence and deters long-term investments.
In a policy brief released on Sunday, Dr. Muda Yusuf, Director/CEO of CPPE, highlighted the vulnerability of investors and employers to arbitrary actions by regulators, labour unions, and government agencies.
“Investors, entrepreneurs, and employers are the lifeblood of every modern economy. They take risks, mobilize capital, create jobs, generate tax revenues, and drive innovation. Yet, in Nigeria, their rights and investments remain inadequately protected,” Dr. Yusuf stated.
The CPPE Director/CEO emphasised that the lack of a comprehensive framework to protect investors and employers undermines the nation’s economic growth and development.
He added, “The real sector is especially exposed, given its large workforce, high fixed costs, and significant sunk investments. There are worries as well about the seemingly unlimited powers of regulatory institutions. A robust policy response is therefore imperative — one that creates a fair, predictable, and secure investment climate; protects those who create jobs; and ensures that industrial relations are governed by law, due process, and mutual respect.”
The CPPE identified several key sources of vulnerability for investors, including weak legal protection, unrestrained union actions, regulatory unpredictability, and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“There is a growing and disturbing incidence of incredibly disproportionate industrial actions. Labour rights should end where those of employers begin. Investors should have as much rights to protect their investment as labour unions have the rights to protect the workers. There is a need for a fair and equitable balance,” Yusuf noted.
To address these challenges, the CPPE proposed several policy recommendations, including the enactment of a dedicated Investor and Employer Protection Act, strengthening of the Industrial Arbitration Panel, and creation of an Independent Investment Ombudsman Office. The centre also advocated for labour relations reforms, regulatory stability, and transparency in government-business interactions.
“The goal of a new Investor and Employer Protection Framework should be to establish a fair, balanced, and predictable environment for business. Specifically, it should protect investors and employers from arbitrary actions by regulators, labour unions, and government agencies; rebalance industrial relations to ensure fairness and due process for all parties; safeguard strategic sectors of the economy from disruptions that threaten national stability; promote regulatory and policy stability to reduce uncertainty and enhance competitiveness; and ensure accountability and enforcement of laws by unions, regulators, and employers alike,” he stated.
The CPPE believes that implementing these recommendations will restore investor confidence, attract domestic and foreign capital, stimulate private-sector job creation, and promote transparency, due process, and accountability in government-business relations.
Yusuf emphasised, “Protecting investors and employers is not a privilege — it is a national economic imperative. Investors mobilise capital, create jobs, and generate the tax revenues that sustain government and society. Without them, there can be no sustained growth, no employment, and no national prosperity.”
