Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says that the Federal
Government has implemented no fewer than 140 reforms on ease of doing
business in the past three years.
Osinbajo said this at the 2nd
Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Awards 2019
held at the State House Banquet Hall on Wednesday in Abuja.
He
said he was delighted to celebrate the phenomenal successes of the PEBEC
reforms and recognition of those who made it all possible.
“Our
incredibly selfless and committed private sector partners and the
sterling performance of many in the public sector; in the past three
years, Nigeria has implemented more than 140 reforms to make doing
business in Nigeria easier.
“Some of the successful reforms
include the ability to reserve a business name within four hours.
“Complete the registration of a company within 24 hours online. “Apply
for and receive approval of a visa-on-arrival electronically within
48hrs. “File and pay taxes online; and access specialised small claims
commercial courts in Lagos and Kano
“The World Bank also reported
in 2018 that 32 states of Nigeria improved their Ease of doing business
environment led by Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Lagos and Anambra,” he said. He
said that in 2019, PEBEC set a goal to move Nigeria into the top-100 on
the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Index (DBI) Osinbajo said that to
achieve that, Nigeria would be pursuing the continued implementation
reforms across all indicators. He said that the indicators included
implementation of legislative reforms, specifically the passage of the
new Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Omnibus Bills.
The
vice president listed others as the expansion of the regulatory reform
program started with NAFDAC and NAICOM to include other regulators; the
establishment of a National Trading Platform for ports; and the
concession of our major international airports. “PEBEC has now commenced
the fourth 60-day National Action Plan (NAP 4.0) on Ease of Doing
Business. “NAP 4.0 is running from the 1st of March to the 29th of
April, 2019.
It aims to deepen the reforms delivered over the
past 3 years and drive institutionalization. “We have highlighted key
action items in all of the focus areas to ensure they do not unravel and
to ensure we drive sustainability “Some of the targets achieved in the
last NAP 3.0 include driving registration for utilization of the
National Collateral Registry to facilitate access to credit for SMEs.
“Clearance
of all pending NAFDAC registration applications to improve efficiency;
and creation of a strengthened single joint cargo examination interface
in all airports & seaports for import and export to reduce the time
spent at the ports. “NAP 4.0 will focus on initiatives such as enforcing
compliance with SLAs across all indicators/focus areas, driving the
passage of the CAM Bill 2018 for improved effectiveness of company law
in Nigeria,” he said.
He said that other areas of reforms were
enhancing efficiency in the small claims court, and enhancing the
application and approval system for visas on arrival, to mention a few.
According to him, the council will continue to work extensively with all
MDAs, the National Assembly and other key stakeholders. In her address,
Coordinator PEBEC and Senior Special Assistant to the President on
Industry Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said the award was to
appreciate Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) which had
contributed in the implementation of PEBEC mandate.
She said
that the reforms were aimed at reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and
improve perceptions about Nigeria’s business environment.
On his
part, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade
and Investment, said the award was a landmark in the journey of creating
an enabling business environment in Nigeria. He said that PEBEC was a
foundation for creating a Nigeria that the citizens deserved.
The
awards which came under various categories were also presented to
various government agencies and private establishments which had
creditably acquitted themselves in terms of reforms in ease of doing
business. Notable among the awards was the World Bank’s sub-National
Award for the Reformed States in 2018 which went to Anambra, Abia,
Lagos, Enugu and the Kaduna States.
Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia
told State House correspondents that he was excited over the award and
was dedicating it to God and Abia people. “But I must acknowledge the
dark room team– the various ministries and departments and agencies that
reformed and reformed quickly.
“This falls in line with our
promotion for the Enyimba Economic City, my ambition is to make Abia the
investment destination not only in Nigeria but in Africa and the only
way to do this is to ensure that the ease of doing business is enhanced
in Abia,’’ he said
