The Nation Newspaper

Tag: doing business

  • ‘More states can be viable by improving ease of doing business’

    Young and suave Kayode Akinsola is a business lawyer with a touch of class. In this interview with JOSEPH JIBUEZE, he speaks on what business law entails, policy consultancy and its intricacies, the ease of doing business and sundry issues.

    The business aspect of law seems vague to most people out there. Could you shed light on what it means to be a business lawyer?

    Business law is an aspect of law practice that covers day-to-day activities of our respective businesses. It is a broad name for corporate and commercial laws, a business lawyer however attends to legal issues relating to business and organisations.

    What does it entail to be a business lawyer in terms of training needs?

    Carving a niche in the legal profession is what lawyers are really delving into from the time immemorial. For me, I think such interested lawyer will start paying attention to corporate law as a course from the law school days; such aspirant will need to further his education to Business School, attend various courses that will aid his expertise at offering advice to his clients.

    How does this aspect of law operate in terms of regulation?       

    There is the Section on Business Law of the Nigerian Bar Association which actually sees to the growth and development of such practice.

    What is your view about ease of doing business in Nigeria, especially the Federal Government’s recent moves?

    I think we are on course, but there is room for improvement. The 2018 reports of the World Bank group for instance shows that some states in Nigeria are still behind on the ease of doing business. The Federal Government through the Corporate Affairs Commission, has taken some measures to make business registration less cumbersome, but when you get to each state of the federation, you will observe that more still need to be done. These areas are procedures to acquire land and register it, obtaining construction and business permits as well as enforcement of contracts. Compared to 2014 reports of the World Bank, the political class might need to set up a one-stop-shop on these to make their respective states investment friendly.

    Are you saying states are not keying it into the Federal Government’s initiative on ease of doing business?

    Honestly, most of the states today are not viable because they fail to embrace the ease of doing business. Seventy per cent of the 36 states in Nigeria cannot operate for six months without the monthly allocation from the Federal Government. I think governments at state levels engage more in politics than governance; hence my suggestion would be that they should begin to look inwardly in order to be more productive, and ease of doing business will be important in this regard.

    What does it mean for someone to be a policy consultant?       

    Every organisation and governments at all levels have a vision they wish to achieve within a reasonable time. For corporate entities, policy document is the operational manual for the company to achieve what it sets out to do, how the employees and other players will operate will be documented. A policy consultant is the one that  does  his work and follows up to ensure compliance. For governments, a survey will be administered as to those areas they intend to work upon, and recommendations will be made from our analysis.

    Why should anyone engage professionals in policy consultancy?

    Many organisations have folded up because the policy for such system was never created, or badly executed even before setting up their businesses. A policy consultant therefore measures up the healthiness of an enterprise and ensures that corporate objectives are achieved. Like I said earlier, it is not enough to have a business vision; you will still need to battle with business mission, company manual, and employee management without rancour, compliance with government regulators and so on.

    How would you assess business environment in Nigeria?

    The Nigeria business environment is moving, but at snail speed. Many factors answer for such rationale, for example, power is one of the major challenges we have today. If we solve electricity problems today, our youths will be more engaged. Ease of doing business is another, which has been highlighted earlier. Others are high cost of governance (salaries of the political office holders, duplication of government agencies), bad leadership and lack of awareness.

    Do you think the business aspect of law needs to be a separate professional field?   

    Oh yes. If this is done, it will streamline the specialisation in the field of law practice. For instance, solicitors work and business law is fast gaining momentum. Some litigants are no longer interested in going to court, rather they engage in the alternative dispute resolution because court processes take time and you might be unsure of what the outcome will look like. Professionals in the field of corporate law offer pieces of advice that safeguard you from legal risk or exposure.

    Do you agree that pupilage is becoming issue among the lawyers?

     Law profession is one of the oldest and a respected callings. Any lawyer who wants to go far will not undermine the place of pupilage and mentoring. Even as the managing partner of a law firm, I still subject myself to mentoring because there will always be people who would have gone far ahead of you within the profession. So I encourage pupilage and mentoring among the young lawyers.

    You have consulted for organisations and governments. Do you have any political ambition?

    I am not thinking in that line currently but God is the owner of time and season.

  • 2019: Between ease of doing business and ease of doing fraud

    ELECTION campaign begins tomorrow, November 18, ninety days to the vote, and something of great interest to citizens and international observers alike is what kind of contest to expect. There is no gainsaying that this is an immensely important election. Apart from the fact of the stark choice of either going forward or backwards; choice between light and darkness, a large percentage of the country’s traditional and political elite is up in arms against the sitting Buhari administration, which they accuse of disrupting their lifestyle, itself characterised by licentiousness especially when it comes to dealing with the commonwealth. This opposition, it must be said, has liquidity of the type that government itself does not have.

    The US Dollar rain by a major opposition party at their convention in Port Harcourt is a dire warning in this direction. This contrasts sharply with the high level of discipline put in place through the Treasury Single Account, TSA being implemented by the Buhari government. It is a matter for great concern that the leading opposition parties have resolved to undertake a campaign clearly aimed at aggravating differences between Nigerians on the basis of especially religion, region and tribe. A document in circulation, from the resolutions of a retreat in a foreign country by one of the parties makes no pretences about their plan to cause tension between various communities.

    They have dramatically begun actions to destroy the integrity of the election process. Even before the gates open for the race to begin, this country is already witness to a unique type of campaign based on unverified allegation or distortion propagated in the two chambers of the National Assembly which are strangely led by opposition candidates in a minority party in the coming election. They have lately launched scathing attacks on government concerning payment for fuel subsidy and the emergency feeding program of the displaced communities in the Northeast. There are vivid reports of unscrupulous opposition politicians who have finished the lives of our youths by handing guns to them, turning them into rag-tag guerrillas confronting our security agencies in Abuja and states in the north central zone.

    For the All Progressives Congress, APC administration at the center, initial moves towards 2019 have been about the effort to publicise the administration’s achievements while at the same time dispelling negative propaganda by the opposition. While it is clear that the opposition is unprepared for a contest based on policies programs, and past records of work, they are bent on distracting the attention of voters by appealing to sectional feelings and throwing voters into confusion. Churches and Mosques and other places of worship are being recruited for election propaganda. For us in the APC, the task before us as we embark on the campaign is to make plain and clear how the country progressed over the last three years and I dare say that there is so much to talk about. We are proud of our achievements.

    But we must first of all make the voter to illustrate where we are coming from because without doing that, it is hard for many to appreciate the enormous strides the nation has made under the present dispensation. For instance, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, at a press conference early this week announced that this administration has achieved the remarkable feat of doubting the available electric power in the county, from less than 4,000 megawatts to now 8,000 mw. This wattage is the available power that is generated and transmitted. Distribution, which is now in private hands, has improved but at 5,000 mw, it still has a lot of catching up to do.

    If we had continued with the pace, corruption and ineptitude that characterized the war against Boko Haram by 2015, it would have taken us decades to eliminate the terrorists’ hold on Nigerian territory and have them confined to a little corner in the country, by the banks of the Lake Chad. Agriculture was abandoned in that region and only a few could grow their own food in years. The Boko Haram had a state within the Nigerian State with a defined territory, a flag, a system of administration complete with taxation and a court system. There was a time that in the northeast, two million people were displaced. Now, the communities are returning as government, with local and international support put back damaged infrastructure.

    The Buhari administration has shown the ability to take hard decisions, in the nation’s interest as has been seen in dealing with the economy. This administration is doing something that no government had done since independence in 1960, which is moving the economy in a completely new direction. Government has done so much, especially in agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing, preparing the country for the greatness that we all desire.

    It would amount to a major reversal, if not self-immolation for the voters to take steps that return us to the discredited past. Take another example, the reform of the trade and investment sector by which the administration has been streamlining systems, ensuring transparency and fewer rules. That’s what the ease of doing business is all about, measures that have brought a lot of international compliment to Nigeria and for which there is a Presidential Enabling Business Council. As a result of this work, Nigeria moved 24 places on the World Bank ease of doing business rankings, and earned a place on the list of 10 most improved economies in 2017.

    A prospective investor denied visa to come by a corrupt consular office in a Nigerian mission can today hop into a plane and obtain his/her visa on arrival. New businesses which took years upon years to register now have a maximum of a 48-hour waiting period to be certified. In the words of President Muhammadu Buhari, “Nigeria is taking steps towards creating a more business friendly environment for foreign investors and visiting business people. Our Visa on Arrival policy as one of the components of our ease of doing business in Nigeria policy is working.

    “Corruption has been identified as an impediment to sound business practices. The fight against corruption, the ongoing exercise to rid the country of the remnants of the insurgency, the continuing importance we attach to transparency in Governance. These are just some of the major policy initiatives, all of which need to be analysed and reported on to the global audience by the media both at home and internationally.” For decades, demand for fertilizer had never been sufficiently met until this administration came. The foreign exchange part of it, USD 200 million is eliminated; subsidies that run up to N60 billion annually have been stopped and on top of that, prices per bag have crashed from N14,000, to government approved price of N5,500. From farmers to pundits and experts in the agric sectors, (SECTOR) no one ever imagined that Nigeria could stop rice imports and achieve near selfsufficiency in three years, but here we are: 90-95 percent of rice imports have ceased.

    The President is carrying out difficult reforms for the future growth of the country, such as the implementation of the ease of doing business, the Treasury Single Account, TSA, the whistleblower process, and hundreds of others, including the massive investment in rail, roads, power and airports. If such reforms had happened in 16 years of the PDP, this country would not have been lowly ranked among nations. In the middle of the process of changing the country from its unwanted standing to a more desirable one, that’s not the time to change a president.

    In Nigeria as in many other democracies, campaign and elections are addictions. They come with attitudes and responses, those that wanted and those that are unwanted. There are worrying excesses that attend our campaigns, and these are already on display. These, if not managed using voluntary agreement or a code of conduct on rules of behaviour for the political parties and their supporters, can turn things in the wrong direction. When they enter into those agreements voluntarily, parties are more likely to feel bound by commitments into which they have freely entered. For a conducive atmosphere to prevail in making wise and informed choices, parties have a duty to sit around the table to decide. More than all the others, the governing APC has a national call to lead this coalition before the revisionists stampede the unsuspecting citizens into substituting the ease of doing business with the ease of doing fraud. •Garba Shehu is SSAP Media and Publicity to the President

  • Ease of doing business: Cautious optimism over fresh reforms

    Nigeria has moved from 169 to 145 in the World Bank’s 2018 Ease of Doing Business Index. Encouraged by the 24-point jump, the highest in the history of the rankings, it is planning to move 45 steps up in the next two years, with the ultimate goal to hit the top 100 by 2020. But the real sector is sceptical about the realisation of this target, via intensified reforms, to make the business environment more conducive. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA examines the sector’s fear.

    The Federal Government’s renewed push to move 45 steps upwards in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’ in the next two years is both timely and legitimate.

    The move, which seeks to haul Nigeria to the top 100 by 2020, came at a time real sector operators are screaming blue murder that various regulations and policies being implemented by the government are undermining the ease of doing business initiative.

    It also drew its legitimacy from the fact that Nigeria’s enormous opportunities and business potential due, in large part, to her population and abundant natural resources, have not translated to a better economic fortune as a result of the challenges to the ease of doing business. So, the aspiration, which harbours hopes of making the business environment more conducive and boosting Nigeria’s global competitiveness, was a welcome development.

    However, when the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, spoke glowingly, almost convincingly, of the government’s plan, through reforms, to improve the country’s ranking by 45 places in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index in the next two years, it was received with measured optimism by real sector operators.

    Although the latest ambitious target, ultimately, hopes to propel Nigeria to the top 100 by 2020, many real sector operators are skeptical. Some of them argue, for instance, that while the new target is an impetus to the Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business earlier signed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, there is need to holistically address the plethora of challenges to the ease of doing business in the country beyond the confined prism of the executive order.

    In a bid to address some of the identified challenges to the ease of doing business, Osinbajo last year issued an Executive Order with the aim of creating an enabling environment for business and entrenching measures and strategies aimed at promoting transparency and efficiency.

    The executive order also sought to promote domestic and foreign investments, create employments and stimulate the economy. The initiative was also expected to promote made in Nigeria products and services by supporting local contents in public procurement by the Federal Government, and fast-track country’s transition to a non-oil economy.

    But the initiative has since come under intense scrutiny, with real sector operators pointing out, for instance, that their operations are hurting from multiple taxes and levies by government at all levels. They have been lamenting that the barrage of taxes and levies by various tiers of government, which came in the wake of the high revenue drive by the federal, state and local governments, is affecting their profitability.

    The Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ikeja Branch, Otunba Francis Meshioye, put this in perspective when he said that the cost of the heavy tax regime propelled by the revenue drive by the three tiers of government was being borne principally by businesses, adding that it was threatening the manufacturing sector’s survival.

    Meshioye, who spoke at a breakfast meeting for MDs/CEOs organised by the branch in Lagos, recently, said the uncertainty arising from regulatory burden and complexities in government’s tax drive were undermining the manufacturing sector’s ability to successfully launch new businesses, expand existing ones, and create jobs.

    At the meeting with the theme, “The Impact of Legislation, Regulations and Policies on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria,” Meshioye lamented that these negate the objectives of the ease of doing business initiative and other reactionary interventions by the federal and state governments.

    However, the heavy tax burden is not operators’ only grouse. The Founder and Senior Partner of Paul Usoro & Co, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN), also said lack of synergy among various government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) was not helping matters and may hurt the realisation of the new target.

    The expert in Communication Law added that decrepit infrastructure, particularly, inefficient power supply remains clog in the wheel of progress. He said, for instance, that power supply in Nigeria still falls short of the megawatts required to power the economy.

    He said while the country reportedly generates about 7, 000 megawatts, this falls short of the required 10, 000 MW as envisioned in the Economic Reforms and Governance Project, which seeks to improve government’s economic and financial management systems and processes.

    As if lack of access to steady and reliable electricity to real sector operators was not bad enough, the unpredictability or lack of continuity of government policies, freeze in the lending activities of banks, lack of maintenance culture and macro-economic instability, among others, are raising the blood pressure of operators.

    For instance, many manufacturers have been agonizing over the high inflation, interest and exchange rates. For instance, many of them are unable to sustain or expand production at the prevailing interest rate of between 20 -27 per cent, depending on the borrower’s perceived risk level.

    As Usoro and indeed, other operators observed, the major source of capital for businesses in Nigeria still remains bank loans, which come at high interest rates. Inflation and exchange rate have also been trending upwards to the chagrin of real sector operators especially the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs).

    The fear is that with the afore-mentioned issues largely unaddressed, the fresh target to improve the country’s ranking by 45 places over the next two years may not be realised.

    While admitting that in setting the new target, government drew its strength from Nigeria’s ranking for 2018, which placed it at 145th position out of 190 countries, with the nation moving up by 24 points from the 169th position on the 2017 ranking, they argue that there is need to first address these issues.

    Indeed, Nigeria’s rise by 24 places from 169 to 145 in the World Bank’s 2018 Ease of Doing Business Index was her highest jump in the history of the rankings, which provide a global snapshot of a country’s business environment in comparison to its peers.

    The feat is said to be fallout of the work of the PEBEC, which is the administration’s flagship initiative to reform the business environment, attract investment and diversify the economy. The council’s principal goal is to make it easier for MSMEs to do business, grow and contribute to sustainable economic activity, and create jobs.

    PEBEC was inaugurated in July 2016 and chaired by Osibanjo. Its reforms as well and the signing of the Executive Order on ease of doing business last year are said to earned Nigeria the rise by 24 places on the ease of doing business ladder.

    It was against this backdrop that Oduwole, said “All of the reforms introduced over the past 24 months are reversing decades of neglect and internal governance roadblocks, and improving Nigeria’s business environment.”

    The PEBEC scribe, who spoke after the Council’s recent meeting where it presented its “2018 Making Business Work Report,” however, said the ambitious target requires accelerated and focused execution of government Executive Order and National Action Plans (NAP).

    Although Oduwole, who doubles as Secretary of PEBEC, announced that the PEBEC will continue to work closely with the public and private sectors to institutionalise its reforms, cascade them to state level, and refine and improve the business environment,” real sector operators appear not particularly swayed.

    Not a few operators especially manufacturers have kicked their heels in, insisting that one of the critical starting points to achieving the new target and making the business environment friendly should be the immediate harmonisation of taxes and levies by the three tiers of government.

    They also argued that the nation’s decrepit infrastructure must be fixed to unleash the potentials of the productive sector if the target must be achieved. They also pointed out that the concerns of operators earlier mentioned must be holistically addressed.

     

    PEBEC promises

    fresh reforms

    To boost the confidence of real sector operators and other stakeholders in the Federal Government’s push to move to the top of the rankings, Oduwole said the government would introduce an omnibus bill on business facilitation in the second half of this year and early 2019.

    The Council, she added, will consolidate gains for the economy through the deepening of the sub-national ease of doing business project. She also said the government was putting measures in place with the aim of making the reforms sustainable, as well as provide support reforms with a robust operating model to accelerate change and build capacity within the MDAs.

    On operators’ outcry over lack of synergy among MDAs, Oduwole said: “The Council is also fostering cooperation between the MDAs and across states, the National Assembly and the private sector; ensuring effective coordination among all the relevant agencies to provide a unified view of implications and improvements; and ensuring proper planning to eliminate the critical binding constraints.”

    The PEBEC secretary stated that Nigeria has come a long way over the past two years, bouncing back from significant macro-economic distress, and is on the way to becoming a textbook example of how an African country can turn its business.

    According to the “2018 Making Business Work Report” presented by Oduwole, the current reform cycle is focused on three pillars to accelerate and expand the impact of completed reforms.

    The first one is deepening  existing reforms through the completion of pending initiatives and ensuring implementation of completed reforms launched last year, including communication and consequence management.

    The second is making the reforms sustainable through several measures being put in place to ensure progress is sustainable, while the third is providing support reforms with a robust operating model to accelerate change and build capacity within MDAs.

     

    PEBEC’s reforms

    The PEBEC on February 21, last year approved a 60-Day National Action Plan, an inter-ministerial and inter-governmental plan drawn by the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) for implementation by various MDAs.

    The EBES was set up in 2016 with the mandate to implement the reform agenda of the PEBEC. The EBES identified six broad challenges affecting the ease of doing business in Nigeria, all of which were to be addressed within the 60 days implementation timeframe.

    According to the “2018 Making Business Work Report,” in 2017 the PEBEC through EBES implemented the first 60-day NAP that contained reforms across seven World Bank indicators and one home-grown indicator.

    The indicators include Starting a Business; Registering Property; Dealing with Construction Permits; Getting Credit; Getting Electricity; Paying Taxes; Trading Across Borders; and Entry and Exit of People.

    Although The Nation learnt that the Council’s reforms have, indeed, yielded positive results, the consensus of operators is that consolidating the reforms and achieving the new target require that the government must muster the political will to match words with action by addressing the challenges facing the real sector.

  • Fed Govt moves to improve ease of doing business

    The Federal  Government’s  drive to improve the ease of doing business  has received a boost as investors and would-be-business owners now have a handbook on how to obtain licenses and permits when doing business in selected sectors in the country.

    Publishers of the handbook, A&E Law Partnership, in a statement in Abuja, said it was part of their contribution to improving the environment for doing business in Nigeria.

    The foreword to the hand book written by Peter Ntephe said the Guide is “a one-stop-shop handbook on the rules for entry into various sectors of the Nigerian economy. Key processes and procedures are outlined in as much a succinct way as possible, along with the fees for obtaining licences and registrations.

    This handbook, which is a product of the knowledge gained by the law firm over the years in “its core competences”, is a praiseworthy compendium and guide to the rules and regulations for doing business in the ‘commanding heights’ of the Nigerian economy”.

    According to A&E Law Partnership Managing Partner, “The Doing Business handbook” adopts a sectoral approach, respectively explicating the requirements for operating in insurance, aviation, cabotage, banking, energy and power, solid minerals, telecommunications, entertainment, food and beverages, private security, oil and gas, among others. There is also the coverage of matters that are applicable across sectors, such as immigration, environmental standards, intellectual property and capital markets”.

    Beside these, there is a section devoted to foreign investors, providing an advisory on organisational forms available as well as other subjects of potential interests, such as repatriation of profits and tax exemptions.

    This handbook is a must have table-top  business advisory for professionals, including lawyers, accountants and bankers as well as investors, entrepreneurs and firms doing or seeking to do business in Nigeria.

    Students and academics whose disciplines require knowledge of matters within the remit of the guide will also find it a useful library reference.

  • Ease of Doing Business: One thing thou lacketh…

    For a country renowned for its stifling bureaucracy, corruption and red tape, the report that Nigeria has moved by – wait for it – 24 places on the annual global ranking of Ease of Doing Business should ordinarily gladden the heart. From being 169th in 2017 and 170th in the 2016 edition, Nigeria, according to the World Bank 2018 report now takes the 145th spot out of 190 economies ranked.

    If it is any consolation, she joins El Salvador, India, Malawi, Brunei Darussalam, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Zambia and Djibouti in the league of 10 top improvers – countries said to have carried out numerous reforms to improve their business environments.

    “These economies together, implemented 53 business regulation reforms across 10 of the areas measured by doing business.

    “Overall, the 10 top improvers implemented the most regulatory reforms in the area of getting credit, starting a business, dealing with construction permits and paying taxes,’ the report said.

    Thanks to the work of the Osinbajo-led Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) set up in July 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari; something, it appears, is finally being done about those retrograde forces holding the economy down. Among the priority bills said to be in the kitty are the National Collateral Registry Bill and the Credit Bureau Services Bill designed to make it easier for businesses to get access to credit; the coming of the Visa-On-Arrival process to include e-submission of applications to dedicated desk at Nigeria Immigration Service and, the push to eliminate manual baggage searches at airport. All of these, no doubt, part of the package designed to make Nigeria a global investment destination.

    Now, I do not deny that reforms are important. After all, we all are somewhat agreed that Nigeria can do with a better environment for doing business. And that many of the regulations currently guiding the process are, to put it mildly, archaic.

    There is however a limit to what improved regulations can achieve in the face of infrastructural limitations. One part of the problem is whether our globalist aspirations can be described as realistic at a time the minimalist conditions for erecting a truly modern economy are a long way yet. Never mind our pretensions about being the biggest economy on the continent, a lot has certainly been said of our antediluvian infrastructure support for business and so require no further elaboration. Ours is a financial services environment which, although touts credit as the life-blood of business yet prefers to operate a usurious regime that sucks the very life out of business. Do we talk about the port system so riddled with corruption and inefficiency that the turnaround time of vessels has shifted from an average of three days to 30 days? Talk of the malignancies of corruption and indolence that ensures that nothing gets to move unless they are moved!

    All of these, unfortunately, are nowhere near the systemic decay in the very foundations for human capital development which in the end can only guarantee that the so-called improved regulations sunder apart.

    This is where I find the theme of the World Bank 2018 report “Doing Business 2018: Reforming to create jobs” interesting.  For a country in a perpetual reform mode – and which admittedly the so-called fruits of reform have remained forlorn, this year’s theme merely affirms the centrality of the human capital question in the debate on growth and development; a subtle rebuke on the comparatively limited attention the Nigerian government continues to pay to the building pillars of development in its haste to be garlanded among the global best.

    Now, if my understanding of the obsession with easing our business process is any correct, it is about getting our businesses up and running; the inescapable assumption is that other things – including the expansion of opportunities for our young people to be productively engaged – would naturally follow!

    It seems to me part of the same patently false assumptions underlying the craze for foreign direct investment at a time local companies are known to be dying in their dozens.  Whoever told the government that the foreigner-investor stood a chance in a clime that has proven a veritable graveyard to countless indigenous entrepreneurial efforts?

    Sure we know that the so-called job magic won’t happen unless the citizens, particularly the youths, are prepared for that future. It certainly will not happen any more than the 70 percent left out of the 1.7 million who sat for this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination without success will automatically land in one of the difficult-to-find but no less derided vocational institutions. This can only happen when the provision is made.

    Presently, we know that our educational system is in crisis. Now that is an understatement: It is broken. I’m not here talking only about universities whose products are now routinely tagged as ‘unemployable’ but of a sector that cannot even guarantee the supply of low to middle level skills needed to get basic industrial or household tasks, done. Gone are the days of standards – and standardization – when you needed a Grade Three certification from the Department of Labour to get a job in the formal sector. It does not matter whether the job was masonry or driving, each came with its own standards and certification just as progress came with crossing next hurdle in the proficiency ladder and so on and so forth.

    All of those now belong in memory.

    What to do? Something far beyond what the current fixation with regulations can ever do: Bring the standards back! Start with an ethical reorientation that affirms not just the dignity of labour but one that assures that trade practices run on the principle of fair wage for a day’s labour.

    Second: Bring back the technical colleges. That way, the nation would be better primed to take advantage of the current reform efforts. One centre of excellence in each of the six-geo-political zones would not be a bad idea at this time. Yes, we are in an emergency. Pump in money – I mean tonnes of it – into equipment and training of vocational personnel. In an age of cutting-edge technologies, it seems the least the federal government can do ensure that the trainees maintain the competitive edge. By the way, some states, notably Lagos with its technical schools and Kwara with its International Vocational Centre are already doing something in this regard.

    I say – there is room for more across the states to bolster the critical skills pool to get the country running on its feet. Sure, those steps offer a faster route to economic recovery than the World Bank Ease of Doing Business prescriptions would.

  • Osinbajo: Govt’ll remove hurdles to doing business

    Osinbajo: Govt’ll remove hurdles to doing business

    The Federal Government has promised to dismantle what it called institutional hurdles to further promote ease of doing business in the country.

    Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo made the promise yesterday in Abuja at the 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit.

    In tackling one of these institutional hurdles, Osinbajo assured the business community that the incidence of multiple Customs checkpoints, especially along the eastern axis will be looked into to create a conducive investment climate in the country.

    He said government has received several reports from concerned Nigerians “who describe the checkpoints as inimical to growth and development.”

    Osinbajo also noted that plans are afoot “to dismantle all clearance bottlenecks at sea and airport borders to ensure quick facilitation. Government will implement reforms at the National Agency for Foods Drugs and Administration Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to make their operations quicker and more orderly.”

    Speaking on financing infrastructure, he lamented that “our budget for this year is about N7 trillion. That is not enough to address all the infrastructure challenges we have and that is why we will always partner with the private sector to address them.”

    He said the Buhari administration remained committed to partnering with the private sector to address the country’s infrastructure shortfall.

    Osinbajo noted that “foreign exchange reserves have risen to about $33 billion and end users have increased access to foreign exchange partly due mainly to increased export earnings and remittances as well as the introduction of a dedicated transparent window for Investors and Exporters (NAFEX).”

    The results he said, “have been encouraging as the inflows of capital in the second quarter of 2017 of about $1.8 billion were almost double the amount of $908 million imported in the first quarter of the year.”

    Osinbajo added that the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) will this month issue directives on independent metering. According to him, “the eligible customer regime allows a willing seller, willing buyer arrangements in the sale of power. While the independent metering directive allows independent entities aside from registered power distribution companies to sell and install meters to customers and be paid directly as collections are made from metered customers.”

    This he said will break the distribution gridlock and there is good cause to believe that we will achieve the 10,000Mw envisaged in the ERGP.”

    On the concerns of high interest rate, Osinbajo pointed out that government is “concerned as most of you are, with the very high interest rates and of course most of that have to do with government borrowing. Since the evidence points to a crowding out of the private sector, the Federal Government is reducing its demand for domestic paper and will seek to refinance maturing domestic debt with longer tenor and cheaper external borrowing.”

    Osinbajo assured the gathering of private sector players that, “intervention funds will continue to be made available through the Bank of Industry, and repositioned NEXIM and Bank of Agriculture and the newly established Development Bank of Nigeria.”

  • The new face of leisure centres – We’re doing business not promoting prostitution –Operators

    The new face of leisure centres – We’re doing business not promoting prostitution –Operators

    To the non-initiate, the gatherings  appear to be a mere social one for a few bottles of beer. Others may see them as an avenue to reunite with old friends and exchange friendship banters.

    And truly, you cannot label them as red light district zones, at least on the surface. All the tell-tale signs of a red light district are missing. But beneath the open display of drinking and socialization, the young women scattered around are lurking in the corners waiting for men who are willing to do more than mere drinking and bantering.

    For them, the common saying, ‘it takes two to tango’, comes into play here. While the girls discreetly display their ‘wares’ in coded forms; there are also men waiting in the wings to catch little fun for the night.

    With chairs and tables neatly arranged to accommodate fun-seeking men and women, and popular music blaring from musical speakers in the background, the stage seems set for a good night out. And to complement the fun, beautifully decorated and cheap guest houses come in handy for men and women who may need them after consuming some bottles of beer.

    From Ikeja to Lagos Island, Ikotun to Mushin and Agege to Ojuelegba, in the nation’s commercial hub, beer parlours have suddenly found a new way to attract young men and women, offering them ‘full services’.

    Interestingly, a lot of the beer parlours around have moved from dimly-lit small rooms to expansive spaces that accommodate a large number of fun seekers.

    In place of the small tape recorder and small loud speakers that were used to supply music to the customers, the rebranded leisure centres, as they now prefer to be called, are fitted with sophisticated music players with skilled disc jockeys dishing out the latest songs to entertain the people.

    Aside from musical equipment, checks revealed that the new ‘beer parlours’ have done away with ‘old-fashioned television sets and replaced them with the more trendy flat screen sets often placed in strategic points around the relaxation centres.

    A trip to the Ikotun area of Lagos revealed the introduction of a new trend meant to ensure that the customer never runs out of pocket. An Automated Transfer Machine (ATM) is placed at a strategic point to serve the interest of the customers that flock the place.  A reveler, who sought anonymity, told The Nation that the presence of the ATM was to enable the fun seekers to have easy access to money to continue to buy the varieties of products that are sold in such places.

    At Social Club road in the Abule-Egba area of Lagos, time was 7pm. Though it was mid-week, fun lovers were beginning to troop in. And by 8:30pm, all the seats had been taken. Itinerant drummers and singers went round singing the praises of whoever caught their attention.  At a nearby table, a middle-aged man suddenly sprang to his feet, rolling and waltzing to the cool rhythm of the drummers. He dipped his right hand into his pocket, brought out some crisp notes which he pasted on the forehead of the leader of the group.

    A little distance away, some girls loitered round, hoping to attract attention of the men. Soon, a young man beckoned to the girls, who rushed to outdo one another. Finally, the man settled for just one of the girls, leaving the rest to go on with their hustling.

    The story is not too different from other fun spots located in the Ikeja area of the city. Along the popular Awolowo Way, the stretch of road, known for its business activities in the day time, changes colour and face in the night, with different fun spots scattered around.

    Investigations by The Nation revealed that fun seekers who want more than the drinks and music are availed the opportunity of dashing into one of the many unmarked guest houses nearby.

    “Why are you surprised about this thing?,” a source asked, and quickly added: “This thing has been on for a long time now. Most of these buildings you see around here are used as fun spots at night. The night clubs only serve to give us the opportunity to gather for fun. If you look very well, most of those girls you see around are not attached to anybody. Any man that wants them would simply pick them and go into any of the guest houses around.”

    Asked how to identify the guest houses, he looked up before retorting: “It is easy now. Just ask any of the girls that you want and she will take you inside. The truth is that the guest houses are not marked. So, a stranger may not be able to identify them.”

    The new trend, the source said, is not a subtle agenda to promote prostitution. However, findings have shown that the rooms, though labelled lodging and accommodation centres in some areas, are actually meant to be a modern way of promoting prostitution.

    The lodgings are given out on hourly basis to prospective customers. The cost, however, differs from place to place. In some places, an hour goes for N1,000, while it is between N700 and N500 in other places. Such services are usually referred to as a ‘short time’ rest.

    The Nation’s investigation also revealed that most of the relaxation centres do not want to be seen as brothels. For them, their vicinities are no-go areas for resident prostitutes. But in spite of this, the centres continue to thrive as havens for coded prostitution.

    At most of the centres visited by our correspondents, women, young and old and ready for fun were found milling around in search of prospective customers. At a spot in Ikotun, a regular visitor told The Nation that education is not a barrier to the girls, explaining that while most are school drop-outs, a good number of them are indeed graduates and undergraduates of higher institutions.

    Also, against the practice in the regular brothels, the girls in most of new relaxation centres have different modes of operation.  They do not dress half naked and do not jostle for customers with desperation.  They come into the centre and take their seats as customers and even buy drinks and other items waiting for interested men to beckon on them.

    A proprietor of one of such relaxation centres, who craved anonymity, argued that the mission is not to promote prostitution. According to him, the proprietors of new leisure centres are simply business, which he described as any other business venture.

    “It  is not fair to say that our mission is to promote prostitution. If we are promoting prostitution, you will see half nude ladies moving up and down or even have their rooms here.  What we have are rooms that anybody can come into and relax.

    “Our rooms are not for sex alone. You can use them if you think you need rest. You can even come in with your wife or girlfriend to enjoy some privacy. When a man comes in with a woman, we don’t have any means of knowing if the woman is a prostitute or not. And it would be out of place for us to be asking for the identity of the person they are bringing in.

    “When you go into a relaxation centre, what we have are people who are catching their fun. Some men come here with their girl friends, while some ladies come alone. When a man approaches such ladies and they agree to have some privacy in one of the rooms, would you describe that as promoting prostitution? The answer is certainly no.”

    A staff of another relaxation centres along LASU road in Lagos explained the idea behind the concept. “We don’t have in-house prostitutes here because this is not a brothel. We only have ladies who come in from their houses to come and hustle here. When you see them, you may not realize who they are; they come in and sit as regular customers.

    ‘’Some come alone, while some others come in groups. An ignorant village man may not even know any of the signs that the girls would use to attract him. But if you are used to them, you will easily know their mission by their actions and the inviting eyes.  They are not the key point of our business. They are only allowed because they are in joint demand to the other things that some of our customers ask for.

    “The ladies that come here have dress code. We don’t permit them to dress anyhow because we don’t want people to begin to view this place as a brothel. It is not everybody that comes here that is out to have fun with them. Some people only come here to eat and drink and probably watch football. You will agree with me that seeing half nude girls around mar discourage such people from coming back. So, all we do here is providing fun for people who require it.”

    Investigations by The Nation at a popular fun spot, located in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos, and named after the presidential villa in Abuja, revealed that the innocent-looking girls did not start arriving until sometime past 10 in the night.

    A service boy, who spoke with The Nation on condition of anonymity, said: “Their kind of business does not permit them to come out early or during the day. Don’t forget that some of these girls are probably still in secondary schools. It is these younger ones that act strangely as if they are trying to cover up their tracks. The older ones among them are more daring. They come out earlier and don’t normally hide their faces.”

    Interestingly, the practice in some of the leisure centres is in many ways similar to what obtains across most female hostels in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

    As is the practice in the campuses, whereby the young boys who run errands for the girls also double as pimps, with the room numbers and tantalizing photographs of the girls, the service boys in most of the leisure centres are usually armed with the detailed contacts of many of the girls and their pictures on their phones. They even boast that the girls are at their becks and calls, and usually get bountiful tips for their efforts.

    “Apart from working here, a good number of us also serve as ‘managers’ to these girls. I have my clients, while my colleagues also have theirs. We collect ‘commission’ on every customer we get for them. I have their contacts and their pictures on my phone.  These set of girls charge nothing less than N3,000 for a ‘short time’. Some other set charge N2,500. There are some others that could manage N1,500 or even less. However, this does not include the drinks and other edibles that you would also buy for them.”

    Asked to explain the differences in the prices, he said: “It is because of their qualities. Their level of sophistication always determines what they would charge. There are some that when you see them, you will see that they are ‘brand new’; that is, they are still very attractive and young.

    “The young trendy girls often attract high prices because they are the set of girls that many customers are eager to meet. At times, your bargaining power could also determine what you pay. Ordinarily, if any of the girls see that you are a money bag, they will just give you a high price and if you are unable to bargain well, you will pay more.”

    It took a mere snap of the finger for him to prove his worth. At the shout of Jack, the service boy provided one extremely innocent and beautiful girl. But whatever look of innocence she had or portrayed vanished as she downed a bottle of beer with fiat. Convinced that her demands would be met, the girl, who called herself Nancy, was ready for business. In a short interaction, Nancy confessed that she came into the ‘business’ through peer influence.

    Clutching the bottle of beer to her chest as if it would be taken away from her, she said: “I actually see what I am doing as fun and that was how it actually started. But the truth is that if you ask me, I would tell you that it is just fun and nothing more. I am not the only one that is here to catch fun. Though the money I make is good for me, but the primary reason is fun.

    “I started by coming with my older friends. Along the line, I started following them and their boyfriends to relaxation spots. We got so used to it that when their boyfriends would not be around to take us out, we would go out on our own. We would just sit down, just the way we do here and wait for guys to come to us. It’s been fun all the way and at the same time, a way of getting some money. Now, I do not have to depend on my parents to give me money to get everything that I need.“

    Another young lady said she came into the business to raise money to further her education. She said: “I am a decent person and I can never go and stand by the road side to do prostitution. Never! I prefer coming to hang out in a place like this to do my thing because hardly would anybody label you a prostitute if you are in this kind of setting.  I wouldn’t have even come into this if I had the means of furthering my studies.  I have been offered admission twice, but because my parents didn’t have the resources to foot the bill, I couldn’t accept the offer.

    “I am always not out to sleep with too many men in a day. The moment I have two men in a day, I am okay. With that, I can go home with between N4,000 and N5,000. On a bad business day, I could go home with N3,000. I have been saving part of it and hope to use it to further my education later.”

    In another relaxation spot at Ikotun, a lady, who obviously looks much older than the two other girls, was all smiles when in the middle of a lively banter, she was asked what brought her into the business. But after her smiles waned, she said she took into the business after losing her means of livelihood to fire incident in Delta State.

    According to her, though she has no regret fending for herself, she never had any inkling that she may one day get involved in such jobs when she was growing up. “When I first came to Lagos, I was living with a friend who was not married. She lived like a big woman each time she came home. But I realized that most of her friends were men.

    ‘’So, one day, one of the came to see her and met me. Unfortunately, the man tricked me and wanted to sleep with me. It was then that I realized that my friend was actually into prostitution. Later, we fought and she asked me to leave her house. For the first few days, I slept at a BRT bus stop. At night, everybody would just spread cartons in different corners and sleep off.

    “I did it for a few days before I met somebody who decided to help me. Since then, I have been surviving like this. Though my situation has improved since I started, but it has never been easy. My conscience actually pricks me sometimes, but the fact that I am doing it in a mature environment like this removes that guilt. After all, there are many other women who have multiple partners and sleep with them just to get money. I am not trying to justify what I am doing, but it is condition that made ‘crayfish to be bent’,” she said with no sign of guilt.

    Expectedly, residents of the areas where some of the relaxation centres are located have raised eye brows over their activities.

    A resident, who gave his name as Pastor Praise, expressed the fears that the life of many young ones may be destroyed by the activities of such centres.

    “Their operations are veiled in such a manner that you have no reason to suspect that they are doing anything but selling drinks and pepper soup. But it is when you get in there that you will find out that many innocent girls have put their lives on the line by going there.

    “When you get in there, you find many girls drinking and prostituting. Many people are oblivious of this evil because most of the girls don’t dress provocatively. The earlier the government wades into the matter, the better for the girls, their parents and the country at large.”

    Another resident said a mother once found her daughter at one of such centres. “It is horrible. But it appears many parents are handicapped because of the economic situation of the country. Many of the girls who hustle in such places are doing so because their parents are incapable of meeting their needs.

    “There was a neighbour of mine whose child would always go out in the evening and return late in the night. She started monitoring her and found out that she was always going to hustle there. One day, she went in there and saw her in a suggestive position. She screamed and forcefully dragged her out of the place.

    “The girl blamed the parents for her action. She said bluntly that her parents were responsible for her actions. She said they refused to train her in school and could not provide money for her to buy the tools of her trade after she went through her apprenticeship.”

  • Rising cost of doing business

    Rising cost of doing business

    The ease of doing business in Nigeria is becoming increasingly difficult as most businesses continue to suffer a lot of privations than they are willing to admit, reports Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf 

    THE drive for foreign direct investment notwithstanding, for many prospective businesses nursing the idea of coming to Nigeria to set up shop, their greatest worry remains how to cope with the sometimes unfriendly business environment fuelled in part by limited infrastructure, defective policies, to mention just a few.

     Crux of the matter

    To the uninitiated, the much-hyped promises of growth, high returns on investment are good enough reason to want to invest in an emerging market economy but not so for those who have had a taste of the bitter pill, especially the high cost associated with running businesses in Nigeria.

    Whether physical infrastructure, poor regulatory framework, inadequate institutional funding from the banks or the lack of support from quasi-governmental agencies, among others, the list is by no means endless.

     Reality bite

    Despite assurances by government at all levels to the promises of better operating business environment, manufacturers continue to lament high cost of doing business in the country, a development, they said, that has led many industries to either close down their operations or relocate to neighbouring countries.

    Giving his perspective, the Director-General of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA), Joseph Wenegieme, said the business climate in Nigeria has been a challenging one despite the fact that there is growth and development as evidenced by the number of companies springing up to start business in Nigeria, but regretted that the business environment has remained harsh, as the cost of doing business in the country is on a high scale.

    He said power supply has been erratic, adding that members of the chamber have had to rely on diesel-powered generators for production, submitting that other members needed encouragement.

    He said non-access to finance makes doing business in Nigeria difficult. “Some companies are already divesting from the Nigerian market, and going to neighbouring countries like Ghana, Benin Republic and so on because of growing insecurity on investments and harsh economic climate,” he said.

    Apart from the manufacturing sector, there is seemingly no other sector of the economy that is not bemoaning the high cost of doing business in the country.

    President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Tomi Akingbogu, said the complaint from members of the association from most commercial states has been that the cost of doing business is so high up to the extent that some local businesses are folding up.

    “So, how do you encourage foreign investors into tourism or other sectors with such challenging factors? The issue of multiple taxes is also another problem, which needs to be resolved.

    “How do you expect business to survive when one has to pay per minute to park his car before he goes to the market or the bank to do business? Yes, parking needs to be controlled, but there is a way to do it. Like they can make it free for a certain period, say two hours, then after that, you pay. With that, everyone with business interest can come and do business with that consciousness. But with the way things are going, businesses are finding it tough to cope, while unemployment is increasing. It cannot continue like this. People will rise up as unemployment increases in any society. That is why we have so many social problems. Presently in the country, if everybody has food to eat and there is a future to look up to, then no one will want to kill himself,” he said.

    Also, the Institute of Directors (IoD), Nigeria, condemned the high cost of doing business in Nigeria, saying it is the bane of economic growth and development in the country. The institute said access to and high cost of finance, lack of infrastructure and good operating environment, smuggling and substandard goods, lack of local patronage, dearth of industrial skills, and absence of investment in innovations are some of the problematic factors affecting cost of doing business in the country.

    Experts have also said that infrastructure deficit in Nigeria valued at trillions of naira places about 15 per cent additional burden on the cost of doing business by manufacturing firms and service providers in the country, leading to high cost of products and services.

    The deficit, according to the experts, is so huge that Nigeria needs to spend about $14.2 billion per year for the next 10 years to be able to bridge the gap.

    African Finance Corporation, an international finance body that supports most businesses in Africa, Nigeria inclusive, is terribly worried over the high cost of doing business in Nigeria.

    President/CEO, African Finance Corporation (AFC), Mr. Andrew Ali, who expressed these concerns lately, cited several factors, especially poor electricity supply, as responsible for the skyrocketing cost of doing business in Nigeria.

    He expressed regret that most companies operating in Nigeria run on generators because of inadequacy in public power supply, pointing out that this adds to the cost of doing business in the country.

    Ali said if the problem of electricity supply is addressed, the cost of doing business will be reduced.

    He called on government to ensure more active participation of industry operators in the country’s technology development.

    The federal government, he said, needs to build investors’ confidence and assure them of high level security of their data and businesses.

    “Government must create a fair business ground that will enable operators roll out services outside urban cities. Although it is very expensive rolling out broadband services in urban areas not to talk of rural areas, and it becomes even more expensive with the multiple taxes imposed on operators by various governments for infrastructure rollout,” he said.

    Citing the example of the nation’s telecoms sector wrongly perceived as a money-spinning business and want to share from the supposed money at all cost, he said this was a very misinformed view, which has led to the cost of doing business in the country.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Chief Executive Officer of VDT Communications, Biodun Omoniyi, which led the three companies that formed Bitflux Consortium, which won the 2.3GHz spectrum licence in Nigeria, he blamed the harsh operating business environment in the country for the slow pace of growth in the telecoms sub-sector.

    Omoniyi called on the government always to strive to provide the right business environment, and commended the NCC for what he described as highly transparent auction of the 2.3 GHz spectrum last year.

    Points to ponder

    Adebari Akudo, an economist, while attempting a prognosis of the many challenges besetting businesses, said these include high operating costs from a dependence on generators and alternative water supply, difficult transportation access and considerably high accommodation prices.

    Besides, the dearth of talents, he stressed, also makes the cost of attracting and retaining top-performers significant and often times costly.

    “The financial cost of doing business squeezes both the producer and the consumer and over the long term leaves both parties ravaged and in many cases, extinct.”

    Apart from monetary cost is the problem of biting social cost. Expatiating, Akudo said: “Social costs are usually responsible for the inactivity and slow pace of growth of many firms that may have effectively weathered the storm of financial cost.”

    World Bank verdict

    In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report of June 2013, Nigeria ranked 147th of 189 countries globally, compared to South Africa which ranked 41st and Ghana which ranked 67th over the same period.

    According to the global body, the report of this year’s study on Doing Business indicated that almost all nations on the continent took deliberate steps to implement reforms which made doing business easier for private sector operators.

    “The report, Sub-Saharan Africa has had a great year of reform, with 35 of 47 economies recording at least one reform that makes it easier to do business – 75 reforms in total.”

    Nigeria alone undertook 10 regulatory reforms in its push towards making private sector operators take charge of the economy.

    Majority focused on improving business incorporation, trade, and credit reporting systems, allowing Nigeria to gradually narrow the gap with the best regulatory practices in the region.

    The report finds that Nigeria ranks among the top five economies in Sub-Saharan Africa in two areas – the ease of getting credit and the strength of minority investor protections.

    Between 2013 and 2014, Nigeria saw an increase of 3.6 points in its distance to frontier score, greater than the global average increase of 0.8.

    This, the World Bank report said “is due in large part to an increase in the coverage rate of Nigeria’s credit reporting system and a reduction in the company registration fee that made it less costly to start a business.”

    Nigeria is one of the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million where the report now covers two cities, providing new insights into the variability of business regulation within economies. Lagos and Kano were covered in the report.

    “This year, for the first time, the DB team analyses business regulations in Kano as well as Lagos making Nigeria one of few countries where the report covers two cities,” the bank said.

    It added, “Francophone Africa had an excellent year, with Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Togo counted among the top ten reformers globally. Senegal is the global top reformer, with six reforms, closely followed by Cote d’Ivoire and the DRC with five reforms each.”

    It was as a result of this that the World Bank in its recent assessment placed Nigeria at 131st position out of 183 countries in the world assessed on the basis of ‘ease of doing business’ in 2013.

    The assessment ranked Ghana at 64th position, 67 places ahead of Nigeria.

    Wakeup call

    Miffed by World Bank’s poor assessment, the federal government inaugurated two Standing Inter-Ministerial Committees to address the high cost of doing business, and the poor rating of Nigeria’s investment climate.

    According to the Executive Secretary, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Mustafa Bello, “Doing Business and Competitiveness Committee is charged with the responsibility to regularly monitor, review and recommend improvement on existing policies and legislation that govern the act of doing business in the country, while Investor Aftercare Committee is charged with the responsibility to consider the complaints from investors on account of apparent irregularity and inconsistency in the implementation of government policies.

    He said the Committee on Doing Business and Competitiveness has identified 10 doing business indicators such as: starting business, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, enforcing contracts and dealing with construction permits.

    Others are: paying taxes, trading across borders, getting electricity, and resolving insolvency. The committee, according to Bello, prioritised the indicators based on their impact on the competitiveness of the Nigerian business environment.

    On what the government could do to assist manufacturers and other sectors bedevilled by the high cost of doing business, Wenegieme said government should promote conducive business climate, such as ensuring the provision of steady energy supply, as well as mount pressure on the banks to reduce their lending rates, saying that with the cost of finance with a high interest rates and frightening COT charges on accessed funds, there is no way manufacturers can survive.

    The IoD said there should be political will and determination by the government and people of Nigeria to pursue existing blue-prints and initiatives; development of basic economic infrastructure that will aid productivity, intensify the rehabilitation work on the existing transportation network and fast track the building of new rail lines; enforcement of corporate governance and best practices in all facets of the economy in order to combat corruption in the system; and that there should be easy access to credit without discrimination.

    The executive secretary of NIPC said the committee has also recommended that government should “encourage the use of on-line system for reservation of company names; delegate to Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) the authority to collect the stamp duty on behalf of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) at the time of company registration; make involvement of accredited professional intermediaries optional in the process of company registration; eliminate the requirement to notarise the declaration of compliance (CAC 4); eliminate the signage fee currently imposed on all businesses by Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency; conduct an intensive communication campaign to educate users about the option of on-line name reservation and payment,” among others.

    To further reduce the cost of doing business in the country, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, recently approved the downward review of the cost of business registration at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) from N50,000 to N15,000 ($100).

    This reduction is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by Joel Attah, the Head of Media and Publicity Unit of the NIPC.

    The new rate, according to a statement from NIPC, is designed to make Nigeria highly competitive in line with international best practices.

    It stated that the downward review was at the instance of NIPC and also in line with the desire of the federal government to improve the country’s competitiveness in doing business rating.

    “It is also a very bold attempt at lowering the cost of doing business in Nigeria.

    “This is expected to substantially enhance the country’s National Competitiveness as a Foreign Direct Investment Destination (FDI),” the minister stated.