Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the latest Ease of Doing Business report by the World Bank is proof that the reforms being carried out by the Federal Government are working.
In the report, which was published on Tuesday (October 31), the World Bank recognised Nigeria as one of the top 10 most improved economies with the country moving up 24 places to the 154th position in the ease of doing business ranking.
Several government officials including President Muhammadu Buhari were delighted by the report, which the President said acknowledged the efforts of his administration to create a better environment for businesses and investment.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo shares the same feelings.
On Tuesday, he described the ranking as impressive and proof that the government’s reforms were making the right impact.
The progress made will not, however, make the government slow down on its reforms, the vice president said in a statement on Thursday.
“This is fantastic news, but by no means an excuse for us to slow down. Instead, we’re taking it as the very reason why we need to ramp up our reforms, for the benefit of Nigeria. There is still work to be done in reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks in the award of contracts and generally in obtaining approvals,” Osinbajo said in a statement by his spokesperson, Mr Laolu Akande.
“It is for this reason – the creation of a business environment that catalyses business activity and investment – that this year alone we have issued an Executive Order focusing on improving the business environment, and launched two National Action Plans designed to be short-term interventions aimed at implementing specific business environment reforms. The second National Action Plan is ongoing, and we expect that it will yield results across every sector of the economy, including the OPTS.”
According to him, the Federal government is also making progress towards reforming and repositioning the country’s oil and gas sector – through its sector roadmap launched in October 2016.
“The roadmap has very specific time-focused targets and like the many bold steps we have taken in this sector since the inception of the present administration, we remain focused on making necessary even if dramatic policy shifts in this sector to grow, deepen and open up the business and opportunities in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector,” Osinbajo said.
