CPPE wants foreign traders’ permits reviewed

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, has called for a review of business permits, expatriate quotas and immigration approvals for foreign nationals operating in Nigeria’s retail and distributive trade sectors.

The group said the growing presence of foreign traders, particularly Chinese nationals, in the retail market could put additional pressure on Nigerian businesses and employment in areas where local capacity was already substantial.

Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Muda Yusuf, raised the concern in a statement on Sunday, citing increasing foreign participation in textiles and fabrics, ICT products and accessories, automobile spare parts and tyres, electrical products, plumbing materials, household goods and other consumer and industrial products.

“The increasing penetration of foreign traders into the retail segment therefore deserves urgent policy attention,” Yusuf said.

He said the distributive trade sector accounted for an estimated 27.5 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce, making it a major source of employment and livelihood, particularly for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, MSMEs.

Yusuf said the development was occurring at a time businesses were already contending with unemployment, poverty, weak consumer purchasing power and high financing costs.

“There have also been protests and complaints by traders in some major commercial markets. These developments should not be ignored,” he said.

The CPPE chief, however, stressed that the organisation’s concern was not about Chinese investment or Nigeria’s broader economic relationship with China.

“China remains one of Nigeria’s most important trading partners and the leading source of the country’s imports,” he said.

“Nigerian businesses have longstanding commercial relationships with Chinese manufacturers, exporters and major distributors.”

Rather, Yusuf said, the concern was the increasing movement of some foreign suppliers and traders downstream into retail segments where Nigerians already possessed substantial capacity.

“A situation where overseas manufacturers or major suppliers sell products to Nigerian importers and distributors, and subsequently establish operations that compete directly with those same businesses at the retail end of the market, creates legitimate concerns about market structure and fair competition,” he said.

Review expatriate quotas

Yusuf urged the government to review business permits, expatriate quotas, immigration approvals and other authorisations for foreign nationals operating in Nigeria’s retail and distributive trade.

He said expatriate quotas should primarily be used to facilitate the entry of skills, expertise and capabilities that were scarce or unavailable locally.

“They should not become instruments for displacing Nigerians from economic activities where substantial domestic competence already exists,” he said.

According to Yusuf, retail trading was generally not a specialised activity requiring scarce foreign expertise.

He said the increasing participation of non-Nigerians in the sector therefore raised questions about the effectiveness of the country’s regulatory and immigration framework.

He called for stronger enforcement of investment and immigration rules, investigation of complaints from Nigerian traders and clearer guidelines for foreign participation across the distributive trade value chain.

He also urged better coordination among immigration, investment, trade and labour authorities.

Yusuf said expatriate quotas should be tied to demonstrable skills gaps and specialised competencies.

“For clarity, the CPPE is not calling for arbitrary restrictions or hostility towards foreign investors but a consistent and credible enforcement of existing laws, transparent rules and a clearly defined investment policy,” he said.

He urged the government to encourage foreign investment in manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, agro-processing, mining, energy and logistics, where Nigeria requires additional capital and technical capabilities.

Yusuf said investment policy should remain open to foreign capital while reflecting the country’s employment, enterprise-development and industrialisation priorities.