PEBEC on Agro-Expo: Over-regulation killing Nigerian businesses, investments — Osinbajo

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) has said that over-regulation is killing businesses and investments in Nigerian economy, there by urging for total revisitation of regulations in the country.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday, chaired the first meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) for 2022.

According to the him,  there has to be a complete reorientation on the exercise of regulatory authority in the country in order for businesses and investors to thrive in Nigeria.

The Vice President stated this yesterday after receiving a report of an Ad-Hoc Committee of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) on Agro-Export and the presentation of a National Action Plan 7.0 today at the Presidential Villa.

The Vice President further noted that there was a problem “if people who want to export cannot export due to what seems like too many regulations.

“There are too many regulatory requirements. Too many regulations kill output. We have to take a second look at how we regulate. Over-regulation is killing businesses. It kills investments. An agric exporter can’t export perishable produce after months,” the Vice President posited.

Osinbajo also lamented that there are also processes of product certifications that take so long on the regulatory queues in Nigeria, while businesses from outside the country with swift regulatory regimes will then bring the same products into the country to sell.

In his words, “Because our certification processes are slow, others from outside nations (from neighbouring countries based on an ECOWAS agreement) with faster processes can bring their products and sell here, while our own businesses are still on the queues of regulatory agencies.”

Dr Jumoke Oduwole, the PEBEC Secretary and Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, who spoke with State House correspondents after the meeting, said agro-export was discussed extensively.

Oduwole said that another 60-day plan had been activated by the council, adding that implementation of the plan by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would be monitored.

“We just had a very comprehensive meeting on agro export; we have a 60-day plan to look at it.

“They (agro-exporters) have been having some challenges; they had come to see the vice president in Oct. 2021; so, now, we have a 60-day plan.

“The National Action Plan (NAP) 7.0 has just been approved by the PEBEC; that’s our annual 60-day accelerator; we have a number of things, automation, regulatory reforms, process and we give you the document.

“We are going to track, as usual, with your support, for the next 60 days, starting on Feb. 7, and ending on April 7; so, it is now up to MDAs to deliver on implementation and ours is to track and make sure that everything the council has approved is done.”

According, to her, the action plan is a journey of continuous improvement as every 60-day plan is a new reform.

Oduwole said that the last two reforms had not been very good because of COVID-19.

“We finished really under 50 per cent; it is not a pass mark in our opinion.

“But as of 2017, 2018 when we started, we are in the high-80 per cent, 70 per cent, coming to 60 per cent; you know as the reforms get more difficult.

“But now, we have talked extensively particularly on agro-exports and then all the other areas; the private sector was represented and they were quite pleased with the reforms.

“So, if MDAs are able to implement these reforms, then, there will some succour and respite.”

She said that the states were cooperating with the council in the reforms.

The PEBEC secretary said that she recently made a presentation at the National Economic Council and there was an impressive states intervention.

“At the states level, we have the ease of doing business report; the second one is coming out in the second quarter of this year.

“The first one was released last March, launched at NEC; that’s  PEBEC/NEC collaboration both chaired by the vice president, that’s baseline survey; the rankings for states were released in June  of last year.

“So, this year, we have made the presentation; we are going to have another ranking; another report, it was based on the input from the private sector and of course, those complains formed the basis of state action plans.

“So, while we have the 60-day intervention at the federal level every year, this is the seventh one; this is NAP 7.0.”

According to her, the state action plans are more annual because they are tracked in an Ease of Doing Business Report—sub-national report for Nigeria.

She said that issues of security in country in the context of the ports, businesses, containers moving to and fro the ports were discussed.

“The Minister of Police Affairs was here in the meeting as well; all the check points on the road, we discussed security.

“We discussed corruption; we discussed inefficiencies and lack of transparency. These are the real issues and we discussed them all,” she said.