The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), National Pension Commission (PenCom), the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundry (SCUML) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have scored low in the federal government’s Regulatory Reform Action Plan targeted at promoting ease of doing business.

The plan, championed by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), is targeted at equipping regulatory agencies that facilitate business environment to aid their efficiency.

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 that, “These reforms operationalize earlier codified provision 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,”

Checks show 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, Shettima noted that “the long-term success of PEBEC hinges on Nigeria’s ability to institutionalize reform capabilities, foster deep collaboration across government, and maintain a commitment to continuous improvements of businesses.”

He added that the country was facing peculiar times which require developing solutions to improve the ease of doing business across all sectors. (Daily Trust)

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