- NACCIMA Worries Over New Population Figure
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture has expressed concerns over the implications of the population figure released by the National Population Commission, which estimates the population to be 198 million, making Nigeria the seventh largest country in the world.
In a statement on Thursday, the President, NACCIMA, Chief Alaba Lawson, said that this could be both an asset and a challenge in terms of meeting the infrastructural and other needs of the large population.
She said, “While noting that population could be an asset, if not planned for, it equally poses lots of challenges in various areas such as the provision of infrastructure, adequate health care system and service, appropriate educational system and employment for the populace. Meeting these challenges requires proper planning by government at all levels in close collaboration with other stakeholders.”
Lawson gave the assurance that NACCIMA as the voice of the business sector and a national body engaged in promoting activities of the private sector of the Nigerian economy, it was ready to work with government at all levels to ensure that the Nigerian population became an asset.
“We look forward to a national dialogue on the challenges associated with population growth in a developing economy,” she said in the statement.