FG to Improve Ease of Doing Business Ranking from 145 to 100, Says Presidential Aide

Mohammed Aminu

The Federal Government is committed to enhancing the ease of doing business by improving Nigeria’s ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business index from the latest ranking of 145 to 100 by 2020.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, Mr.Sani Yakub, made this known at the 9th meeting of the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment in Sokoto yesterday.

He said the recent improvement of the country’s ease of doing business in the global ranking moving 24 points upward from 169 to 145 was a collective determination and ability to achieve results.

Yakub stated that it was in view of this that the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan was launched to drive economic recovery and build a globally competitive and diversified Nigerian economy

He posited that the priorities of the plan included stabilising the macroeconomic environment, achieving agricultural and food security, improving transportation infrastructure as well as driving industrialisation with a focus on small and medium scale enterprises.

Yakub emphasised that the Economic Recovery and Growth plan was focused on an implementation that brings about inclusive and diversified growth translating to improvements in the welfare of the people.

“The overall goal is to achieve an economy with low inflation, stable exchange rates, diversified and inclusive growth and providing opportunities for all citizens to express their entrepreneurial spirit,” he stated.

He described the meeting as apt, as it would enable stakeholders articulate solutions on how to implement the economic growth recovery plan with a view to achieving industrialisation.

The senior special assistant further said the success was largely dependent on its effective implementation by doing things differently to achieve results.

“There is a need more than ever before to focus on implementation and all the tiers of government have a major role in this all-important task,” he added.

In a remark, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Edet Akpan, said the present administration was determined to unlock the potential of industrial, trade and investment sectors for job and wealth creation.

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a motion mandating its Committee on Customs and Excise to investigate the abuse of import duty waivers granted by the Federal Ministry of Finance and their effects on the economy.

The committee was further authorised to determine the nature and extent of abuse of the Customs Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports (PAAR) by importers and