Nigerian economy is working under Buhari, Osinajo tells London summit

The present administration is making specific efforts to enable the private sector to thrive by undertaking ease of doing business’ reforms and the ongoing investment in infrastructure, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has said.

Osinbajo said this Monday p at the Financial Times Africa Summit held at the Claridge’s Mayfair Hotel in London, United Kingdom. 

He said the present administration has been working assiduously to improve macroeconomic conditions in the past months, 

“After a continuous slide in growth since 2014, the trend of growth in GDP has turned around with a modest growth of 0.55% in the second quarter of this year while inflation, though still somewhat high, has declined from its peak of 18.7% in January 2017 to about 16% today.

“The outlook going forward is quite positive based on improvements in oil prices and production and the trend of leading indicators such as positive purchasing managers indices, a revived stock exchange and increasing foreign exchange reserves,” he said.

Highlighting some of the efforts of the present administration in agriculture and power, the Vice President said: “in the first stage, reforms were introduced under a 60-day national action plan focused on eight areas that make it easier to register businesses, obtain construction permits, get credit, pay taxes, get electricity, trade across borders, facilitate entry and exit of people and register property.

“Practical examples of success include leveraging the use of technology to fast track business registration and payment of taxes, a functioning, tried and tested 48-hour electronic visa procedure, and an Executive Order mandating greater transparency and efficiency across all government agencies. 

“The reforms have led to reduction in cost and time, as well as greater transparency for small and medium sized enterprises in particular. Following the 70% success rate achieved in the first phase of the ease of doing business reforms, we recently embarked on a second national action plan which will have 11 areas of focus and will run for 60 days from October 2017.”

The Vice President equally said Nigeria is an investor’s delight because of the opportunities which its economy offers. 

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