Business
Ambode Promises Business-Friendly Policies
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State says the government will continue to initiate policies and strategies that will enhance business opportunities and enable local products to achieve parity in the international market.
Ambode, represented by Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Prince Rotimi Ogunleye, said this last Saturday in Lagos at the LCCI Commerce and Industry Awards.
The Tide source reports that the Commerce and Industry Awards was organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
The award is to celebrate private and public institutions operating in the country for their best practises, growth through innovations, business sustainability and positive impact on the society.
Ambode said that people were conversant with the challenges of the past three years that disrupted investment opportunities in the maritime sector, manufacturing, textile and other real sectors of the economy.
He, however, said the government was making progress in creating an enabling environment through policies, initiatives, institutional re-energising and infrastructural renewal/development.
Ambode said that the business environment would continue to improve as positive outcome of some of government’s policies and strategies in the areas of transportation, power, infrastructure and waste management become manifest.
According to him, synergy between government and the organised private sector through development and implementation of policies has alleviated challenges hindering local and foreign investments in the country.
He urged local investors and business entrepreneurs to integrate trends that would push Nigeria’s product to a global state, as strategic technological development had changed the way businesses was done globally.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.