Business
Industrialist Blames Recession On Non-Portfolio Billionaires
Nigerian industrialists
and President Newland Group, Mr Peter Chieshe, has blamed the economic recession on the rise of Nigerian billionaires who has no business establishments.
Chieshe, who had diversified interests in the agricultural value chain, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Makurdi on Saturday.
He said that the growing increase of Nigerian billionaires without a single productive business was responsible for the current recession.
According to him,lack of productive businesses in any country ultimately leads to economic recession.
He said that the source of wealth of many Nigerian billionaires was questionable as their only businesses were what he termed “at best their long finger in the public commonwealth.
“Nigeria produces billionaires who have no productive businesses, all that they have at best are their long fingers in our commonwealth,” he said.
He said that governments over the years had consistently failed to pursue particularly beneficial economic development policies to make the economy strong.
“The Private sector has always been touted as the engine of growth by the government; unfortunately, this has been more of rhetorics than in action.
“Government policymakers have never paid enough attention to the manufacturing sectors which offers great opportunities to economic prosperity.
“Rather government chooses to undermine issue that will stimulate growth of the economy for a predatory rent-seeking economy that has relegated industrial production to the side alleys and made corruption the centre stage.
“Our governments have made less than satisfactory efforts to smoothen the path of its would be private entrepreneurs thereby neglecting a crucial lesson from the post World War II experience of today’s developed and rapidly developing countries.
“Our government also refused to develop a robust light manufacturing industry to take care of both the domestic market and export-led manufacturing that will have earned us forex.
“We lost track; we derailed,” he said
Chieshe said lack of governmental concern over the years led Nigerians to live deceitful and unproductive existence of affluence, endemic corruption, dependence on Federal allocations, faulty economic policy thrusts, among other utopian existence.
“These are the reason for our collective economic failure,” he said.
The industrialist said that it was not late for the government to move the nation forward by implementing action that would lead to economic success and grassroots prosperity.
He noted that economic development would not come by happenstance, but through smart policy measures pursued over a sustainable period by committed leadership.
He also said that the world was about global exchanges of products and services that make for the economic prosperity of nations.
“For any state or nation to be prosperous, it must make and sell to the world, what the world needs; we have no other way around this.
“Nigeria must undergo structural economic transformation from traditional agriculture toward an industrial economy which will begin with light manufacturing,” he said.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor