The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), has scored some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) low in the federal government’s Regulatory Reform Action Plan targeted at promoting ease of doing business.
The plan, championed by PEBEC is targeted at equipping regulatory agencies that facilitate business environment with the needed capacity to aid their efficiency.
Some of the MDAs that performed poorly are the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), National Pension Commission (PenCom), the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundry (SCUML) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
Speaking at the release of the plan’s results in Abuja on Friday, the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr Jumoke Oduwole said “The 90 days period for the plan was extended to 120 days, as MDAs have actively worked on improving eight key indicators including the Review and Update of their Service Level Agreements, Transparency Reforms, Efficiency Reforms, Entry & Exit (Airport) Reforms, Port Operations Reforms, National Single Window Project Facilitation, AgroExport Reforms and Manufacturing for Export Reforms.”
She added, “These reforms operationalize earlier codified provisions in the Business Facilitation Act 2022, and directly impact productivity and competitiveness of Nigeria’s economy. With the success of this final sprint, Vice President Kassim Shettima is today hosting the inaugural PEBEC Townhall Meeting on Friday, June 28, 2024, where the results of the Accelerator and deepening the PEBEC’s regulatory reform mandate will be discussed,”
A report by Daily Trust says that out of the 36 MDAs assessed, the report released by PEBEC put the Bureau of Public Procurement as the lowest with 0.0 per cent followed by the National Pension Commission with 13.2 per cent then the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundry 15.7 per cent and then the Nigeria Immigration Service with 19.7 per cent.
Among the top performers are the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQs), the Nigeria Maritime Safety and Administration Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) all having a 100% score and successfully completing the requirements of the action plan.
In his remarks, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima noted that “the long-term success of PEBEC hinges on Nigeria’s ability to institutionalise reform capabilities, foster deep collaboration across government, and maintain a commitment to continuous improvements of businesses.”
The vice president warned that no matter the depth of the reforms introduced, the government will fail to achieve its goals unless MDAs function at their best and align seamlessly with the agenda of the Bola Tinubu administration.
He said a business environment that fosters innovation, creativity, and productivity must be built on the pillars of the 8-point agenda of the administration.
Shettima added that the country was facing peculiar times which required developing solutions to improve the ease of doing business across all sectors.
He implored members of the PEBEC as well as MDAs to be driven by the dreams of all Nigerians aspiring to grow their businesses and looking up to the government for direction towards a future of prosperity.
