The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) has restated its commitment to leveraging its platform to boost the volume of export between Nigeria and the United States.
The chamber stated that the United States, despite being the second-largest trading partner to Nigeria, has a trading volume that is yet to reach its desired levels.
The newly elected president, NACC, Dame Adebola Williams, disclosed on the sidelines of its 60th yearly meeting and investiture ceremony to usher her in as the new president of the chamber for the next three years. She said: “We have many schemes to help our members export to the United States, so this is going to be one of our top priorities to ensure that our members get the full benefits of the Chamber. We have to make it a win-win for both chamber and the members and certainly this is one of the activities we would be embarking on.”
She added that the pandemic had ravaged many economies of the world as the chamber would start off by working to fix some of the damages caused by the pandemic. “As a new team, we would watch and not rush, look at the policies and understand how they line up with what the federal government is doing and then react. We would watch the terrain and see how we can interface with the government on improving the lots of different sectors of the economy,” she said.
Earlier, the immediate past president of the chamber, Otunba Oluwatoyin Akomolafe, said the chamber’s level of advocacy and engagement with the public sector through the various arms and agencies of the Nigerian government has improved significantly.
He added that the year under review, despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the attendant restrictions and limitations placed on physical interactions, the Chamber still managed to initiate and successfully organise a total of 11 programmes, with two physical breakfasts meetings while others were conducted virtually. “These programmes cut across various sectors inclusive of Investment Stimulation, Logistics, Financial Services, Real Estate, Oil & Gas, as well as the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA)/Export. These programmes drew a commendable level of participation with very positive feedback from participants,” he said.
He noted that due to the COVID-19 that paralyzed business activities and physical movement for a significant part of the year, the Chamber was only able to engage in virtual trade interfaces and interactions with relevant stakeholders in the United States. “However, we are encouraged by the pledge by both the Commercial Section of the United States Embassy in Lagos as well as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to lend their support whenever we are ready to re-commence outward physical missions,” he said.