Nassarawa state government renews pledge to improve business environment

Nasarawa State Government, north central Nigeria, says it has initiated a series of reforms in line with the mandate of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and State Action on Business Reforms (SABER) to ensure an improved business environment.

The Managing Director of Nassarawa Investment and Development Agency (NASIDA), Mr. Ibrahim Abdullahi, made the pledge diring a high-level engagement with chief executives of ministries, departments and agencies on the State’s Action for Business Enabling Reforms (SABER).

He said the program was organised by NASIDA, with the support of the PEBEC to engage Chief executives, technical officers of business-related MDAs, and members of the State Assembly Committee on Capital Market on the need to work towards the realisation of the SABER program.

Abdullahi said the engagement with Chief executives of MDAs and members of the State Assembly committee on the capital market aimed at enhancing collaborations to remove unnecessary bureaucracy, and deliver transparent and effective government services.

This, he said would enable Nassarawa state to achieve the mandate of the SABER program, which seeks to provide additional incentives, using results-based financing targeted at improving the business environment.

He listed several reforms initiated by the state government to improve the business climate of the state including; the establishment of a one-stop shop investment promotion agency and digitized land administration.

Others are; the establishment of small claims courts, the signing of an executive order called the Nasarawa governance result, and the efficiency mechanism, which compels MDAs to provide a timeline within which they will respond to queries and inquiries or provide feedback.

 “A healthy business environment is essential for economic growth, wealth and employment generation, as well as poverty reduction, so

“Inappropriate regulation, excessive and uncoordinated taxation, lack of fair competition, unstable policy environment impede investment and the development of markets, stifle entrepreneurship, and compel businesses to operate in the informal economy,” he said.

“NASIDA’s mandate is to ensure new and old businesses strive seamlessly, to achieve this, we have taken several measures such as digitization of business-related MDAs to ensure that services are obtained in the most friendly and seamless manner,” he said.

Project Manager, of the PEBEC Secretariat, Mr. Ayokunnu Ojeniyi, explained that the SABER program is a 3 years performance – based joint intervention by World Bank technical team and the PEBEC Secretariat.

According to Ojeniyi, the intervention is to incentivize and strengthen the implementation of business-enabling reforms across the states.

He explained that the ease of doing business mandate was articulated in the economic recovery and growth plan and subsequently retained in the national development plan aimed at generating 21 million jobs and lifting 35 million people out of poverty by 2025.

“This is why this engagement is very important for all the stakeholders relevant to the implementation reforms, and I’m very sure that Nassarawa is one of the leading states as far as this program is concerned,” he said.

Also speaking, Hon, Mohammed Isah, Chairman Committee on the capital market, commerce and investment, state Assembly and Dr. Abdulkarim Kana, state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice both pledged to work towards the realization of the SABER program in the state.