The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, which is a dedicated technocratic institution for the sustainable development of Southwest, Nigeria has declared that Nigeria overall economic performance, especially in the Southwest, remains weak, uncompetitive and unattractive to prospective Investors coming to the country.
Southwest Regional Integration Agenda Portfolio Managers, which relies on all economic indicators pointing to ease of doing business ranking being released by the World Bank and researched by the DAWN and Department for International Development (DfID) under Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn Programme (PERL), noted that crucial and strategic economic indicators and parameters that boost ease of doing business are still not being met by many states in the country.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting held on Ease of Doing Business in Abeokuta on Wednesday, Seye Oyeleye, Director-General, DAWN Commission revealed that starting businesses and sustaining them in Nigeria remain big challenges to investors and business owners going by bureaucratic bottlenecks being created for the investors on application of land, registration of business and property, production regulation and assessment, construction permits, access to loans, power and security issue, among others.
Oyeleye, who was represented by Senior Analyst, Adetayo Adeleke-Adedoyin, said that frantic efforts and energies must be exerted on all economic indicators and parameters that could help Nigeria grow and develop economically, which centre on starting a business – access to land, registration, regulation and assessment; construction permits – dealing with the building, construction permit, registering property and enforcing contracts; access to credits, grants and infrastructure as well as other incentives that improve ease of doing business.
While giving examples of best performed economies among Nigeria states relying on World Bank Ranking, DfID Research and DAWN Assessment in some years, Oyeleye explained that “overall economic performance remains weak except in Lagos and Ogun states, and Lagos and Ogun states only among 36 states and Abuja can’t be doing fine in ease of doing business and competitiveness, all of us must strive to improve on ease of doing business and competitiveness of we must create wealth and employment.”
When Bimbo Ashiru, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry was asked on why Ogun state is reported to be doing well on improved ease of doing business and competitiveness, he explained that a lot had been done to fast track quick and easy access to land, construction permit, property registration, security of lives and property, access to MSMEs loans, among other incentives, but appealed to Federal Government to support States in the area of fast tracking of registration, assessment, regulation and control.
He said, “We cannot do it alone, we have CAC, FIRS, NAFDAC, SON and other Federal Goverment’s MDAs in charge of all that. We need to collaborate and work together on ease of doing business. Mr President or Mr Governor will not come and attend to investors and business owners, it is we, the foot soldiers that will attend customers, that are meeting with investors and if we don’t do it very well, we may have problem with ease of doing business.”
The Commissioner also admonished all cadres of public and civil servants and government officials not to compromise and engage in bribery and corruption as such shameful acts drive away investors, saying: “We must not compromise, it is very important, once we are compromised, we are frustrating investors, they will leave, and they must not leave, because we want Nigeria to be an alternative to investors and not an option.”
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
