By NAOMI UZOR

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has called for the amendment of pension laws, saying the management of pension funds should rest solely with the National Pension Commission.

The Director-General of LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, who made the call, Tuesday, said “We should be guided by lessons of experience if we are truly committed to transformation of the economy; relevant pension legislation should be amended to make this happen.”

He said that given the experience with the management of pension funds, it was time to fully devolve the responsibility to the National Pension Commission, adding that the corruption risk of direct management of pension funds by bureaucrats was very high.

Commenting on the state of the manufacturing sector during the third quarter of the year, he noted that the manufacturing sector is still groaning under the pressure of dwindling sales, weak consumer demand, high cost of fund, dumping of substandard products at ridiculous prices in the market and unethical practices in the distributive trade sector.

“However, some manufacturers acknowledged the improvement in power supply but lamented the outrageous tariff.

“There are concerns about weak commitment to the implementation of the policy of patronage of made-in-Nigeria products by government ministries and agencies. We believe that stronger commitment to the policy of patronage of mad- in-Nigeria products would have a tremendous impact on the industrial sector,” he said.

Regarding the 2013 budget, he noted: “The budget speech has no monetary policy content. It would have been useful for the President to highlight the thrust of monetary policy as this is critical to the realization of inclusive growth and fiscal consolidation.

“This is even more so at a time when businesses are facing severe challenges with regard to access and cost of credit.  The banking system currently has zero tolerance for risk and this is stifling private sector growth and the capacity of entrepreneurs to create jobs.