Ease of Doing Business: FG Implements 140 Reforms In 3 Years, Says Osinbajo

The Federal Government has implemented more than 140 reforms aimed at improving the business environment in Nigeria in the past three years.

Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, stated this at the 2nd Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Awards. He also noted that 32 States were reported by the World Bank to have improved their Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) environment in 2018.

He stated: “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 48 hours; File and pay taxes online and; Access specialised small claims commercial courts in Lagos and Kano states.

“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 states.”

Osinbajo further remarked that the target of the federal government is to move Nigeria into the top-100 on the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Index (DBI).

“In 2019, PEBEC set a goal to move Nigeria into the top-100 on the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Index (DBI). To achieve this, we will be pursuing the continued implementation of reforms across all indicators, including the implementation of legislative reforms, specifically the passage of the new Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Omnibus Bills; the expansion of the regulatory reform program which started with National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and National Insurance Commission (NAICOM); and now to include other regulators; the establishment of a National Trading Platform for ports; and the concession of our major international airports,” he added.

Speaking on ‘Upstream Opportunity in the Oil and Gas Sector’, Rabiu commended the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote for his commitment to Nigeria’s downstream sector, adding that “the coming on stream of the Dangote 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery and efforts by NNPC to revamp the country’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri, would help Nigeria to achieve zero importation of refined petroleum products.”

Speaking during a technical session on “Infrastructure as a Key Enabler for Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Sector”, Executive Director, Dangote Group, Ahmed Mansur, said private sector investment and execution capacity in the Nigeria gas sector need to complement government’s efforts in the industry.