Business

Ease Of Doing Business: FG Moves To Improve Ranking

Published

9 years ago

August 30, 2017

The Federal Government, says all tiers of government are now being proactive to improve the country’s 2018 ranking on the Ease of Doing Business.
Mr Aminu Bisalla, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, said this in Abuja at a meeting with the commissioners for trade and commerce from the states.
“All arm of government are now involved to ensure that the country improves in its ranking of ease of doing business.
“As part of effort aimed at facilitating the ease of doing business in Nigeria, registration is now very easy, small businesses can now establish without facing any difficult situation.
“More states have lands that are accessible, business owners can use the land to get loan and I am very optimistic that the next ranking will see Nigeria progress tremendously.
“A lot is being done to reposition the economy in areas where we have comparative advantage.
“We have realised that the engine of growth is the private sector and the only way to succeed in vitalising the economy is to make it very easy for businesses to flourish,’’ Bisalla said.
In July 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari established the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), with a mandate to remove bureaucratic and regulatory constraints to doing business in Nigeria. The Council is chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
The council released three main pillars of the next phase of interventions and reform to improve its image on ease of doing business report by the World Bank in 2018.
The pillars comprises Deepening Existing Reforms, Sub-national Reforms and Trading within Nigeria.
Nigeria’s ranking in the latest report by the World Bank for 2017 improved marginally from 170 to 169 out of the 190 countries
Nigeria’s overall global ranking improved by 44.63 per cent points average, against 44.02 per cent age points, or 0.61 per cent in 2016.
Bisalla said that in the past, the major challenge for small business owners was multiple taxation which made it difficult for small businesses to develop.
According to him, with the effort made so far by the government, business can now flourish and with that, there will be more employment in the country.
Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, in a paper, said, there were compelling imperatives for sub-national reforms at the states level.
The paper is tilted “Reforming Nigeria at the sub-national level: Bringing Enabling Environment Reforms to all Nigerians’’.
Oduwole, who is the Secretary to the council, said that the reforms were in the best interest of each state to support economic growth and development.
She said that the reform progress would serve as a tool for investors to measure viability of proposed investment in a state, adding that, some states were already implementing the reforms.
Oduwole said a lot could be achieved with limited resources by applying best practices like efficiency, transparency, performance management and key performance indicators.
“Sub-national rankings are important as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) make up to 90 per cent of business in Nigeria.
“The local business plays a vital role in ability of MSMEs to thrive, a friendly business environment MSMEs to move from the informal to the formal sector,’’ she said.
Oduwole said that drastic and fast-paced business reforms must be conducted simultaneously to improve the business environment and attract foreign investors.
She said that reforms must be adopted within the next 12 months to reflect in the 2018 ease of doing business report.
According to her, going forward, the council is focusing on three key areas which are deepening existing sub-national and additional reforms.
Ms Cemile Hacibeyoglu, from the World Bank Group, said successful reforms should include all relevant agencies and the private sector.
Hacibeyoglu said the sub-national doing business studies were aimed to promote competition and motivate regulatory reforms, to improve the business environment and achieve convergence among locations towards the best regulatory practices.

Business

Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members In Brass Water

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways

The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.

?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered

as search party are still ongoing.

Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.

The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit

The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident

By: CHINEDU WOSU

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.

Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.

He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.

According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.

He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.

“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.

Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.

The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.

He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.

The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.

He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.

Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.

By: King Onunwor

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

7 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.

Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.

“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.

The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.

According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.

Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.

He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.

“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.

“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.

Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.

“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.

“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.

She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.

Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).

“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.

“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.