The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has concluded the Seventh National Action Plan (NAP 7.0) with an overall completion rate of 50%.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by PEBEC Secretary and Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr Jumoke Oduwole.
According to the statement, the NAP 7.0 was initially extended by 30 days from the the previous completion date of April 6, 2022. PEBEC notes that the completion 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).
“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 now be 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/recordal documents”, the statement read.
Dr Jumoke Oduwole however thanked the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, for her kind and timely support for the implementation of the reforms, stating that “the PEBEC Secretariat will continue to work with MDAs to deliver the outstanding reforms for the benefit of micro, small and medium scale enterprises and the Nigerian economy after NAP 7.0 window closes.”
The PEBEC is chaired by Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment
Otunba Niyi Adebayo as Vice Chairman.
PEBEC also consists of thirteen Ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. There are also representatives from National Assembly, the Judiciary, as well as State Governments, Local Governments and the private sector.
The PEBEC, at its meeting held In January 2022, 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 of the 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 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.
The reforms include the streamlining and simplification of agro-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.
