The federal government Tuesday, restated its commitment to the ease of doing business initiative, announcing fresh plans aimed at facilitating quick clearance of goods at the ports.
In addition, it promised to implement reforms at National Agency for Foods Drugs and Administration Control ( NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria ( SON) to make their operations faster in facilitating doing businesses in the country.
The Vice- President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo gave these commitments on behalf of federal government yesterday in Abuja at the panel session of 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit ( NES) moderated by Broadcaster, Kadaria Ahmad.
Other members of the panel are, Chief Tony Elumelu and Vice- Chairman, General Electric Company, John G. Rice.
The 23rd NES , is an annual gathering of public and private sector stakeholders aimed at proffering solutions to various challenges facing the economy. The 2017 edition has as its theme: ” Opportunities, productivity & employment: Actualising the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
Responding to Kadara’s question in respect to ease of doing business which she ( Kadara) noted had yet to be deepened as multiple checkpoints still exist man by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service(.NCS), Osinbajo consented to her view.
But, while responding , the vice- president, however, assured business community and Nigerians in general that, the challenge of multiple Customs checkpoints along a certain axis in the country will be looked into as the government remains committed to creating a conducive investment climate in the country.
Admitting that, several reports had come to government attention from concerned Nigerians who describe the checkpoints as inimical to growth and development, Osinbajo said plans were afoot to dismantle all clearance bottlenecks at all sea and airport borders to ensure quick clearance of goods at the ports.
It addition, Osinbajo said the government will implement reforms at National Agency for Foods Drugs and Administration Control ( NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria ( SON) to make their operations faster and more orderly.
On other factors affecting economic growth like epileptic power supply, dilapidated roads and insufficient foreign exchange for importers, the Vice President said the Buhari administration remains committed to partnering with the private sector to address the country’s infrastructure shortfall.
“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. That notwithstanding, we are doing a whole lot across various sectors. Interestingly, we have exited recession. We are not there yet but it is a sign that we are making progress. Our foreign exchange reserves have hit $32 billion. We now have a dedicated window for investors and exporters to access foreign exchange called NIFEX”.
“Our oil production has increased because as at the time we came in, we were losing 1 million barrels daily. Now production is nearly 2 million barrels per day. Our debt overhang is being addressed as we pay our Joint Venture cash call arrears. There is the new confidence in the country. Investors are coming in. We have created the eligible customer arrangement for power where buyer and seller meet and strike a deal. There are plans to break the power distribution network”, said Vice President.
Addressing the issue of high-interest rate raised by a member of the audience, he said the government has taken initiative to seek her loans via long tenure and cheaper loan in order not crowd out private sector access to credit.
Restating government commitment to diversifying the economy, he said much mileage has been recorded in agriculture, adding that heavy investment in the agricultural sector, which began at the inception of the Buhari administration will be sustained.
In his contribution at panel session, Chairman of Heirs Holding, Tony Elumelu urged the government to up its commitment in SMEs . He said Nigerian youths are uniquely creative, willing and ready to work if opportunities were created. He advised the government to tackle the protracted power failure, saying it remains number one stumbling block.
” localisation is synonymous with the growth of SMEs. It takes care of our youths. We’ve creative youth prepared to work once opportunities present themselves. We need to see growth felt by our people, not on paper and that is when it’ll be effective. Investors want to see where the locals are doing well before they come in from overseas”, said Elumelu.
On his part, Vice – Chairman GE, Mr. Rice said Nigeria with its huge population will remain attractive to investors. He said, ” We’ve invested over $10bn in last 10 years. We only want things to get better and that’s why we’ve stayed”.
In his opening remarks earlier, Minister of Budget and National Planning , Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, recalled that, “since its inception in 1993, the Nigerian Economic Summit has provided a very useful platform for the public sector to engage with the private sector, development partners, academia, and Civil Society Organizations, to find ways of working together to achieve faster economic development, and generally to improve our working relationships”.
“Last years Summit was organized at a time the economy was in recession. To get out of recession required our refocusing the economy from reliance on crude oil to enhancing non-oil revenues, and the non-oil economy. In short, we had to quicken the process of changing from a monoculture economy to a diversified, competitive economy, in which we grow what we eat and consume what we make. It was this focus on looking inwards that caused us to choose the theme “Made in Nigeria” for the 2016 Summit. And ensuring that more things are made in Nigeria continues to be the focus of this Government”.
“During my presentation at the 2016 Summit, I highlighted the various steps government was taking to reflate the economy so as to reverse the contraction of the economy and reposition the economy back onto a path of sustained growth and development. It is gratifying to see that some of these initiatives have contributed to the Second Quarter performance numbers recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics which indicate that, after 5 quarters of contraction, we have now recorded a small growth of .55%. Whilst this growth rate is still too small for celebration, it is a signal that we are on the right path and that we have stopped the economic slide which started in 2014. Also, from the NBS numbers on investment flows it is clear that private sector confidence in the Nigerian economy is coming back”, said the Minister.
Describing ERGP a product of extensive consultations, Senator Udo Udoma said the government is committed to the faithful implementation of the ERGP.
“It is for this reason that this year’s Summit is dedicated to the implementation of the ERGP. We cannot, and must not, allow it to fail. At this Summit, we will be expecting the active participation of all the private sector persons gathered here in reviewing and strengthening our implementation strategies. Indeed, we are gathered here so as to give an opportunity for this gathering of captains of industry and influential members of the private sector to contribute towards the effective implementation of the ERGP”, he added.
