The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Sunday, disclosed that it has completed its Seventh National Action Plan (NAP 7.0), following the 30-day extension of the previous completion date of April 6, 2022.
Recall that PEBEC, at its meeting held In January 2022, had approved the commencement of NAP 7.0 to run from February 7, 2022, to April 7, 2022, with a target to deliver 57 reforms within the 60-day accelerator window.
Some participating MDAs include the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Trademarks Registry (Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment), Citizens and Business Department (Ministry of Interior), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The PEBEC Secretary and Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, in a statement she issued in Abuja, said NAP 7.0 was concluded with an overall completion rate of 50% and marks the end of the 90-day accelerated reform cycle targeted at implementing reforms for improved efficiency and transparency of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
She explained that NAP 7.0 was designed to further reduce the challenges faced by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across four areas – Agro-Export Implementation Action Plan, Automation Reforms, Regulatory Reforms, and Executive Order 01/ReportGov.NG compliance reforms.
According to her, the reforms include the streamlining and simplification of ago-export regulatory practices with a view to boosting the competitiveness of Nigeria’s agro-exports while enhancing Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings as stated in the Agro-Export Plan.
“The completed reforms for the NAP 7.0 includes the publication of Insolvency Regulations pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, providing the much-needed support for the operationalization of the extensive insolvency provisions in CAMA 2020. In addition, public companies will be now able to upload their share registers on CAC’s Company Registration Portal (CRP).
“Furthermore, enforcement of compliance with Order 172 on timeline for distribution companies (Discos) to complete new connections for maximum demand users to the distribution grid has commenced. The reform will improve Discos’ turn-around time for connecting maximum demand users. Likewise, the Trademark Registry has resolved previously recurring errors in the manual generation of certificates/recorded documents”, Oduwole said.
The PEBEC scribe, who thanked the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, for her support for the implementation of the reforms, said: “The PEBEC Secretariat will continue to work with MDAs to deliver the outstanding reforms for of micro, small, and medium scale enterprises and the Nigerian economy after NAP 7.0 window closes.”
“The PEBEC is chaired by His Excellency, the Vice President, with the Honorable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment as Vice Chair and consists of 13 Honorable Ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The PEBEC is also privileged to enjoy among its expanded membership high-level representation from the National Assembly and the Judiciary, as well as State Governments, Local Governments and the private sector.”
