Harrison EDEH

THE Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) is seeking stiffer adherence to expatriate quotas amid concerns over growing dominance of foreign traders, particularly Chinese nationals, in Nigeria’s retail small and medium enterprise value chain.

The Chief Executive Officer of the CPPE Muda Yusuf, said the growing dominance if unchecked could affect Nigerian entrepreneurs,who dominate the retail segment value chain.

In a statement issued on Sunday,September 20,Yusuf said  such concerns about foreign participation are mostly visible across textiles and fabrics, ICT products and accessories, automobile spare parts and tyres, electrical products, plumbing materials, household goods and other consumer and industrial products.

According to Yusuf,the increasing penetration of foreign traders into the retail segment deserves urgent policy attention.

He stressed that Nigeria’s distributive trade sector employs an estimated 27.5 percent of the country’s workforce, making it a major source of employment and livelihood — particularly for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

He emphasised that the concerns are emerging at a time the business environment is already facing challenges, including unemployment, poverty, weak consumer purchasing power, and high financing costs.

“There have also been protests and complaints by traders in some major commercial markets. These developments should not be ignored,” Yusuf said.

He said CPPE’s concern is not about Chinese investment or Nigeria’s broader economic relationship with China,but dominating economic retail segment where Nigerian businesses have dominant capacity.

“China remains one of Nigeria’s most important trading partners and the leading source of the country’s imports,” the CPPE chief said.

“Nigerian businesses have longstanding commercial relationships with Chinese manufacturers, exporters and major distributors,”he stated further.

He observed,however,that a situation where overseas manufacturers or major suppliers sell products to Nigerian importers and distributors, and subsequently establish operations that compete directly with those same businesses at the retail end of the market, creates legitimate concerns about market structure and fair competition.

As a result,he further called for a review of business permits, expatriate quotas, immigration approvals, and other authorisations for foreign nationals operating in Nigeria’s retail and distributive trade.

“Expatriate quotas should principally facilitate the entry of skills, expertise and capabilities that are scarce or unavailable locally,” he said.

“They should not become instruments for displacing Nigerians from economic activities where substantial domestic competence already exists.”

Yusuf said retail trading is generally not a specialised activity requiring scarce foreign expertise, adding that the increasing presence of non-nationals in such activities raises questions about the effectiveness of the regulatory and immigration framework.

He called for stronger enforcement of investment and immigration rules, investigation of complaints from Nigerian traders, clearer guidelines for foreign participation across the distributive trade value chain and better coordination among immigration, investment, trade, and labour authorities.

Yusuf also said expatriate quotas should be tied to demonstrable skills gaps and specialised competencies.

“For clarity, the CPPE is not calling for arbitrary restrictions or hostility towards foreign investors but a consistent and credible enforcement of existing laws, transparent rules and a clearly defined investment policy,” he said.

Yusuf said foreign investment should be encouraged in manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, agro-processing, mining, energy and logistics, where Nigeria needs additional capital and technical capabilities, rather than in basic retail activities where domestic capacity is already substantial.

He said Nigeria’s investment policy should remain open while reflecting the country’s employment, enterprise-development, and industrialisation priorities.