The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s weak protection of investors and employers, warning that unchecked powers of labour unions and regulatory agencies are crippling competitiveness and discouraging capital inflows.
In a policy brief released in Lagos on Sunday, CPPE Director General, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said that while the country has developed strong legal frameworks to safeguard workers’ rights, it has failed to create an equivalent system to protect those who invest and create jobs.
“Investors, entrepreneurs, and employers are the lifeblood of every modern economy. They take risks, mobilise capital, create jobs, generate tax revenues, and drive innovation. Yet, in Nigeria, their rights and investments remain inadequately protected,” Yusuf declared.
He expressed concern that employers are increasingly exposed to harassment, arbitrary regulatory decisions, and industrial actions that are often “disproportionate and disruptive.”
“There is a growing and disturbing incidence of incredibly disproportionate industrial actions,” he said, stressing that the real sector — with its large workforce and heavy fixed costs — is particularly vulnerable to strikes and shutdowns.
Yusuf urged policymakers to design a more balanced institutional and legal framework that safeguards both workers and employers, arguing that economic growth and competitiveness depend on protecting all stakeholders in the enterprise ecosystem.
