By Victor Ahiuma-Young

Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has raised the alarm over what it described as the growing overreach of the National Assembly into executive matters, warning that the increasing summons of private businesses by lawmakers is disruptive, unconstitutional, and harmful to Nigeria’s business environment.

The President of NECA, Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye, made this known while delivering his address at the 68th Annual General Meeting of the Association, held at NECA House, Alausa, Lagos. He said that the incessant invitations extended to NECA member-companies by several National Assembly committees are unnecessary and costly, adding that many of the issues being probed lie strictly within the jurisdiction of executive agencies.

“We are deeply concerned about the increasing frequency of invitations extended to our member-companies by various committees of the National Assembly,” Dr. Okoye stated. “Most of these matters fall clearly within the purview of the Executive arm of Government. These frequent summons are not only disruptive but also result in undue financial strain for businesses struggling to survive in a harsh economic climate.”

He warned that the trend undermines the principle of separation of powers enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and poses a grave threat to the rule of law and ease of doing business.

“Unfortunately, there are growing attempts to amend the Constitution to grant such powers to the legislature, a move we believe is misguided and dangerous,” he cautioned. “Granting oversight of private entities to lawmakers would amount to a duplication of executive functions and directly conflict with ongoing efforts to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria.”

Dr. Okoye explained that if not checked, the practice would open the floodgates to regulatory overreach, discourage local and foreign investments, and further increase the cost of doing business in the country. He said NECA, in collaboration with other arms of the Organized Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), would intensify its engagement with the government to defend the rights of businesses and ensure that constitutional boundaries are respected.

“Our message is clear: while we support accountability and transparency, the Constitution must be respected. Businesses must not be harassed or made scapegoats in a power tussle between arms of government,” he stressed.

The NECA President also urged lawmakers to focus on their legitimate legislative and oversight responsibilities and to support pro-business reforms that will strengthen private sector-led growth, job creation, and national development.

As part of its wider advocacy, NECA called on the federal government to deepen economic reforms, curb inflation, stabilize the exchange rate, and enact a comprehensive anti-counterfeiting law to protect genuine businesses from the scourge of fake and substandard products.

Dr. Okoye thanked the Association’s members and Governing Council for their resilience and commitment to enterprise development in a volatile economic environment. He assured them that NECA would continue to protect their interests and speak truth to power when necessary.

“We remain committed to advancing a business-friendly environment where constitutional democracy thrives, and private sector contributions to national development are valued and protected,” he said.