NECA, Oyo govt collaborate for sustainable business ecosystem

Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) is set to collaborate with the Oyo State government towards ensuring the sustainability of businesses in the state.

The Director-General of NECA, Adewale-Smart Oyerinde, said the step was to strengthen public-private dialogue for business environmental sustainability in the state.

Speaking in Ibadan during an engagement between the state government and the organised private sector, with the theme, ‘Strengthening Public-Private Dialogue for Environmental Sustainability in Oyo State’, Oyerinde stated that one of the biggest signals to effective collaboration was the willingness to listen.

The NECA DG said the Oyo State Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has shown willingness to listen to the organised private sector to ensure sustainability of the business environment.

He noted that the government needs the private sector to drive development across the state, adding that the private sector also needs the government to create an enabling environment through regulations and laws.

“It is a mutually inclusive collaboration for all of us. If we don’t collaborate, the people we are trying to save, the masses, will suffer for it.

“We are glad that we have taken this bold step with the Ministry of Environment, and we shall continue to deepen the engagement not only for the good of business, but for all citizens of the state,” he said.

In his remark, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Temilolu Ashamu, said the Ministry remained committed to fostering a transparent, fair, and enabling regulatory environment that supports responsible partnership and businesses.

He said his Ministry was ready to provide technical assistance, engage regularly with stakeholders in policy and implementation, and also promote collaborative initiatives that would advance a collective environmental goal.

He, however, urged businesses to ensure their operations and investments not only comply with environmental laws but also go beyond compliance to become champions of sustainability.

“Your sector is a key driver of economic growth, innovation, and job creation, and I believe that we can work together to achieve a more sustainable future.

“Our mutual goal is to create a thriving economy that does not come at the expense of our land, air, water, and well-being of our people,” he said.

Chairman, Oyo State House of Assembly Committee on Environment, Ecology and Water Resources, Olorunpoto Rahaman, said the Committee remained open for continuous collaboration both with the organised private sector, as a group or with individual companies.

“Beyond conversation, we must see action that inspires, responsibility, and strengthens our shared resolve to leave behind a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable Oyo State,” he said.

Also, Chairman, South-West, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), covering Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti states, represented by the Treasurer, Sunday Aboriomoh, appealed to the Ministry of Environment to always carry MAN along in its decision-making and policy formulation that affect the environment in the state.

He lamented that members of MAN are passing through various challenges, such as a high exchange rate, a high bank interest rate, and others, which forced some of their companies to fold up, while some are producing at 30 per cent capacity.

He, however, urged the government to prevail on banks to give MAN low-interest rate facilities to foster an enabling environment and economic development in Oyo state.

Source: Guardian Nigeria | Continue to Full Story…