Our improved ranking on W/Bank ease of doing business index

Kudos to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) for the latest improved ranking of Nigeria on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index. This is a welcome development that very much lends credence to the council’s sustained effort at streamlining processes and instilling measures that could make registering of businesses and investments in […]

Kudos to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) for the latest improved ranking of Nigeria on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index. This is a welcome development that very much lends credence to the council’s sustained effort at streamlining processes and instilling measures that could make registering of businesses and investments in the country as seamless as possible.

Granted, all these do brighten the prospects of increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the attendant boost in economic activities and prosperity.

However, there are other areas that the council needs to focus on, if only to fashion out a solid and impactful template that guarantees a much more business-friendly environment in the country. There should be a holistic review of all the processes in key government   institutions like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Customs Service (CS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the  Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), with a view to removing all steps which do not add value to the processes. This will make such processes less cumbersome and the inherent services more user-friendly.

Ditto for the processes in the judicial adjudication of business disputes which need to be critically looked into. This may indeed require the establishment of specialised courts to handle financial and other business disputes so as to address the rather lengthy and often frustrating time such cases take in conventional courts, which invariably impacts economic growth adversely.

Finally, the council needs to also focus on strengthening the key institutions of government  through the deliberate tinkering with the laws establishing them so as to give them the “teeth” to execute their given mandates, for strengthened institutions are the sure guarantee of a system that has the capacity to always weather the storm.

Sani Badamasi, 10, Bishop David Abioye Avenue, Andi-Kan Estate, Gwarimpa, Abuja.