We must ensure we deliver on our promises, Osinbajo tells MDAs

…As PEBEC evaluates progress

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has charged all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with responsibilities in the 60-Day National Action Plan on Ease of Doing Business to intensify efforts towards ensuring that they deliver on promises made to Nigerians.

The Vice President who spoke on Tuesday at the seventh meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), noted that although “progress has been made in the last 30 days of implementing the Action Plan, a lot more remains to be done to ensure that Nigeria is progressively made an easier place for businesses to start and thrive.”

The Council evaluated the activities of implementing MDAs in the last month, identified progress and aligned on next steps towards achieving the remaining targets in the plan by the April 21, 2017 deadline.

In her presentation, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment and Secretary to PEBEC, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, informed the Council of some reforms implemented by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) since the Action Plan was approved in February.

“Documents can now be uploaded directly on the CAC portal rather than manual submission; a single form has been introduced for company incorporation to save time and costs and the FIRS e-payment solution has been integrated with the CAC portal to facilitate e-stamping,” she said.

Oduwole also explained that crucial directives have been issued by cabinet ministers on palletisation of imports into Nigeria; submission of advanced cargo manifests; and on reducing the number of procedures required to get connected to the electricity grid.

She said “the Nigeria Immigration Service has consolidated arrival and departure forms; the Ministry of Interior has drafted a new Visa Policy outlining visa-free entry for certain countries and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a second directive on 48-hour visa processing time.”

PEBEC members agreed that a key task in the next phase of the plan would be to reduce documentation requirements at the ports in order to ease the entry and exit of goods into the country. The Council noted that the number of documents required for exports and imports was higher in Nigeria than in other African countries like Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Benin and South Africa.

If fully implemented, the National Action Plan could potentially lead to N2.6 billion savings by SMEs in registration costs to start businesses annually; 116,000 minutes of traveller time saved daily; 60 per cent reduction in time to register property; and 23,500 hours saved by exporters annually.

In an attendance at the PEBEC meeting were the Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah; Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Interior, ABdulrahman Dambazau and Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment and several other top government functionaries.