When the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) gathered captains of industry, reform champions and senior public officials at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa for its 2025 Awards and Gala Night, one announcement resonated far beyond the room. The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) was named winner of the coveted Business Advocacy and Partnership Award, a distinction reserved for institutions that have consistently shaped a more predictable, competitive and reform driven business climate in Nigeria. 
The citation for the award captured why NECA stood out. PEBEC recognised the Association for steadfast commitment, constructive engagement and strategic collaboration that have strengthened Nigeria’s business environment and advanced the reform agenda.  In a field where it is easier to complain than to confront structural problems, NECA has chosen the more demanding path: rigorous analysis, principled negotiation and, where necessary, decisive legal action. This award is therefore not a ceremonial plaque. It is a public affirmation that responsible advocacy can shift the trajectory of an economy.
Why the PEBEC award matters
PEBEC was established to remove bottlenecks that stifle enterprise and to champion ease of doing business reforms at the highest level of government. Its annual awards spotlight the public and private institutions that are not only talking about reforms but actually delivering them. 
For NECA to emerge as the Business Advocacy and Partnership laureate in 2025, alongside leading ministries, departments, agencies and international partners, signals that the voice of organised business is now central to Nigeria’s economic reform story. It validates decades of work in which NECA has served as an honest broker between government and employers, insisting that policies must be pro-growth, evidence based and socially responsible. 
Receiving the award, NECA’s Director General, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, described the honour as a testament to the Association’s longstanding commitment to supporting enterprises, advancing regulatory improvements and promoting a predictable, growth enabling economic landscape.  The message to members and policy makers alike is clear: advocacy, when grounded in facts and pursued with persistence, can change the rules of the game.
Five strategic achievements that defined NECA’s 2025
The PEBEC award did not arise in a vacuum. Throughout 2025, NECA consistently demonstrated what it means to be the authentic voice of business in a challenging macroeconomic environment.
First, NECA secured a landmark judgment at the Federal High Court in Abuja that blocked an attempt to impose additional excise duties on non alcoholic, carbonated and sweetened beverages. The case, which challenged a 2022 fiscal policy circular, ended with the court declaring the circular invalid and ultra vires, and restraining the Nigeria Customs Service and the Federal Ministry of Finance from using it to burden companies with fresh taxes.  This ruling protected thousands of jobs, sent a strong signal against arbitrary taxation and reinforced the principle that government agencies must operate within the law.
Second, NECA deepened its role as a thought leader on industrial policy by championing the “Nigeria First” agenda. In a series of engagements and media interventions, the Association argued that prioritising local production is essential for reducing import dependence, easing pressure on the naira and building resilient value chains. It emphasised that such a policy must be backed by competitive infrastructure, stable power and clear incentives, and urged employers to deliberately patronise Nigerian products as part of a broader industrialisation strategy. 
Third, NECA used its 2025 Employers’ Summit as a powerful platform to demand more inclusive and coherent reforms. Ahead of the summit, the Association warned that mismatched fiscal, trade and regulatory policies were hindering enterprise growth and undermining the intent of government programmes.  The summit itself, held in Abuja under the theme “Enabling Sustainable Enterprise in a Transitioning Economy: Aligning Fiscal, Trade and Regulatory Reforms for Inclusive Development”, convened top government officials, regulators and private sector leaders to focus on practical steps for driving sustainable enterprise and inclusive growth.  By moving the conversation from rhetoric to actionable commitments, NECA again demonstrated that advocacy is most effective when it is anchored in solutions.
Fourth, the Association invested heavily in building the capacity of employers and business leaders. Through the 2025 NECA Annual Retreat for Business Managers, Executives and Technical Committees, as well as dedicated learning and development programmes and a virtual Knowledge Sharing Session on labour and factory inspection, NECA equipped organisations with tools to improve compliance, workplace safety and management effectiveness.  These initiatives help firms navigate regulatory complexity while raising standards of corporate governance and human resource management.
Fifth, NECA continued to invest in the future of work through its special projects and job fairs, which focus on employability, digital skills and career readiness for young Nigerians. The 2025 Job Fair and related initiatives are designed to bridge the gap between education and employment and to ensure that enterprises have access to a pipeline of future ready talent.  At a time when youth unemployment remains a national concern, this practical contribution to human capital development is as important as any policy victory.
Taken together, these achievements show an organisation that is not content with issuing communiqués from the sidelines. NECA is in the courtroom defending the rule of law, in the policy arena shaping national debate, in the classroom and virtual space building capability, and in the labour market creating pathways for the next generation.
A model for partnership driven governance
The PEBEC award also highlights a deeper shift in Nigeria’s governance culture. By recognising NECA alongside high performing public agencies and development partners, the Council is signalling that economic reform is no longer the exclusive domain of government. It is a joint venture that requires credible private sector institutions willing to take responsibility, invest in dialogue and hold both themselves and the state to high standards. 
NECA’s approach offers a template. Rather than defaulting to confrontation, it foregrounds evidence, builds alliances and seeks win win outcomes. Yet when fundamental principles such as the predictability of the tax regime are at stake, it is prepared to litigate and to stand by its members. That balance of cooperation and firmness is precisely what Nigeria needs to unlock investment, stimulate innovation and build trust between the public and private sectors.
Inspiring a new generation of reform champions
Awards can sometimes be the end of a story. In NECA’s case, the PEBEC Business Advocacy and Partnership Award should be seen as a milestone on a longer journey. It sends a powerful message to other business membership organisations, professional bodies and civil society groups: constructive engagement works. It shows that when institutions invest in research, maintain internal discipline and speak for the collective rather than the narrow, they can influence national direction.
For young professionals and entrepreneurs, NECA’s trajectory is also instructive. The organisation began life in 1957 as a forum for employers to interact with government on socio economic and labour policy issues.  Today, it sits at the centre of conversations about taxation, industrial policy, regulatory reforms and employment. That evolution has been driven by people who chose to build, not just to criticise. The PEBEC recognition is therefore not only about past advocacy. It is a call to the next generation to see nation building as a career worthy of their talent.
Nigeria is at a crossroads. The choices that policy makers, investors and citizens make in the coming years will determine whether the country realises its potential or remains trapped in cycles of volatility. Institutions like NECA, which combine technical expertise with moral courage, will be decisive in tilting the balance toward progress.
By honouring NECA with the Business Advocacy and Partnership Award, PEBEC has reminded the country that reform is a team sport. By continuing to speak for enterprise, defend the rule of law and invest in people, NECA is showing that advocacy, at its best, is a form of nation building. That is a legacy worthy of celebration, and a standard to which others can now aspire.
