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The latest World Bank report on Ease of Doing Business (EODB) which ranked Nigeria 145th position out of 190 countries in the index for 2018 has been commended by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
According to the report, Nigeria moved up by 24 points from 169th position on the 2017 ranking to 145 in the current index.
The report further indicated that Nigeria alongside El Salvador, India, Malawi, Brunei Darussalam, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Zambia and Djibouti are the top 10 improved countries worldwide, after carrying out numerous reforms to improve their business environments.
In an official statement issued on Wednesday, the President of ACCI, Tony Ejinkeonye believes that this performance is commendable given government’s efforts since last year towards creating an improved business environment in Nigeria.
On federal government’s efforts on to address ease of doing business concerns,he said: “The Nigerian administration prioritized the holistic improvement of Nigeria’s business environment for local and foreign businesses especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to drive economic development.
“The President approved the formation of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) chaired by His Excellency, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and supported by the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES), a small task force responsible for driving the reform agenda and ensuring implementation across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)”.
Other worthy initiatives commended by the Chamber includes Enabling Business Environment Secretariat established by the PEBEC with key partners including: Representatives from relevant MDAs, as well technical and strategic partners such as Organized Private Sector (OPS) (made up of Chambers of Commerce), and members of the international community.
He also said: “Government identified three initial priority reform areas which are; entry and exit of people, entry and exit of goods, and transparency.
“With consultative partners, PEBEC prioritized seven World Bank EODB reform areas, with two objectives namely, Moving Nigeria up in the EODB rankings and Removing critical bottlenecks to doing business in Nigeria.
“The Executive order – 60 Day National Action Plan to address select challenges in reform areas released to the public”.
He expressed confidence that if the impressive manifestation is sustained, the country’s economy would make the list of first 100 nations in that regard.
“No doubt, this high ease of doing business ranking is a manifestation that the reform efforts are beginning to yield positive results and the regulatory environment is improving. If the current efforts are maintained, Nigeria is bound to jump to the top 100 by the next ranking”, Ejinkeonye concluded.
