Nigeria’s Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo has called for complete reorientation on the exercise of regulatory authority in the country in order for businesses and investors to thrive in Nigeria.
Osinbajo, stated this 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 on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa.
The vice president who presided over the first PEBEC meeting this year noted that there is a problem “if people who want to export cannot export due to what seems like too many regulations and there is need to take a second look at the regulatory system which is killing businesses in Nigeria.
The Vice President lamented that there are also processes of product certifications that takes 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.
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The report of the Ad-Hoc Committee’s of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council on Agro-Export revealed among others things that the exportation flow as regards payment and verification as extremely cumbersome, and exporters complained about the imposition of the NAFEX rate on export proceeds, which limits their access to foreign exchange and their inability to utilise their export proceeds.
The report also revealed that There were multiple physical cargo examinations by Pre-shipment Inspection Agencies.
The Council, therefore, resolved to approve an Agro-Export Action Plan that will remedy the situation and also approved a 60-day National Action Plan 7.0 that continues the ease of doing business reforms of the Buhari administration. The Plan kicks off on February 7, 2022.
Editor: Hadiza.A.A
