Through its Ease of Doing Business reforms, Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo-led Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has contributed to Nigeria’s ranking as top 20 improvers of doing business for 2020.
The World Bank Doing Business team, announced on Friday that Nigeria ranked in the top 20 out of 190 countries.
The announcement is coming ahead of the official release date of the World Bank Doing Business Ranking set for October 24.
The World Bank Doing Business Report is an objective assessment of prevailing business environments based on a number of ease of doing business indicators.
In Nigeria, the report assesses doing business conditions in the two largest commercial cities of Lagos and Kano.
The World Bank’s announcement acknowledges reforms spearheaded by the PEBEC in the areas of “operationalising a new electronic platform that integrates the tax authority and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)”.
It also acknowledges reforms carried out in some of the World Bank Doing Business indicator areas such as starting a business, registering property, getting construction permits, getting electricity, enforcing contracts, and trading across borders.
According to the World Bank Doing Business team, “the CAC also upgraded its name reservation platform and, in Kano, there is now an electronic platform for registering business premises online, eliminating the need to appear in person.
“In Lagos, land administration was made more transparent following the digitisation of cadastral plans in a geographic information system; digital copies of cadastral plans are now easily obtainable.
“Nigeria also made getting electricity easier by allowing certified engineers to conduct inspections for new connections. Initiatives also made commercial litigation of smaller cases more efficient.
“The Chief Judges in Lagos and Kano issued practice directions for small claims courts introducing pre-trial conferences and limit adjournments.
“Finally, customs integrated more agencies into its electronic data interchange system, and port authorities launched an e-payment system, speeding up both exports and imports,” it said.
This validation confirms that our strategy is working and we will continue to push even harder.” said the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr Jumoke Oduwole.
PEBEC was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in July, 2016 and works towards the fulfillment of the projections of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017-2020), which is striving to deliver sustainable economic growth in Nigeria by restoring growth, investing in our people, and building a competitive economy.
Chaired by Osinbajo, the Council has carried out over 140 reforms so far, through the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat, in a bid to remove bureaucratic constraints to doing business in Nigeria and make the country a progressively easier place to start and grow a business.
Similarly, the Vice President’s office oversees the National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIPs) of the Buhari administration, which has millions of beneficiaries nationwide.
Source: nan
