The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) stated that the potential hardship protest scheduled from 1-10 August could lead to a daily loss of around N400 Billion for Nigeria if not managed effectively.
In a statement on Sunday, CPPE Director Muda Yusuf emphasised that the protest posed a significant threat to Nigeria’s already fragile economy.
The economic think-tank group cautioned that the organisers of the planned protest should avoid providing a platform for individuals in the country with criminal intentions, who aim to cause suffering to innocent citizens, corporate organisations, and damage public assets.
Additionally, it called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government to promptly implement its economic stabilisation plan to reduce production costs and alleviate inflationary pressures.
“The proposed nationwide protests portend grave dangers for an economy which is already in a very fragile state. The protests could inflict an estimated daily loss of N400 billion, if not properly managed.
“The consequences of such a huge loss for the country and the citizens would be very severe. “There is a high risk of shutdowns and disruptions in major sectors of the economy. These include trade and commerce, manufacturing, entertainment, transportation, logistics, financial services, the hospitality industry, agriculture, aviation, ICT, and construction sectors.
“This is in addition to risks to the lives and properties of innocent citizens and corporate bodies. The safety of government assets is also at risk.
“We cannot fix a problem by promoting such negative tendencies.
“Over 90% of employed Nigerians are in the informal sector. Employees in this space are dependent on daily income and any disruption to their economic activities beyond 24 hours could snowball into major social unrest. This underlines the country’s vulnerability to prolonged protests”, CPPE stated.