‘Nigeria Needs Higher GDP To Drive Ease Of Doing Business’

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) has said that Nigeria needs to boost its Gross Domestic Products (GDP) to create an enabling business environment for local and international investors.
Speaking at the 43rd Annual Conference of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ISCAN), yesterday, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, NIPC, Ms Yewande Sadiku, represented by the council’s Acting Director, Investment Relations, Mutawalli Kukawa, said: “There is a strong correlation between prosperity and the ease of doing business. All the countries that have higher GDPs are the countries that are topping in the ease of doing business, like Singapore, the United States of America and Norway.
“For Nigeria to be among the top 100 countries in the ease of doing business ranking, we need to step up our GDP, so that we will be able to make the business environment better. The higher the prosperity in a country, the easier doing business in the country is.”
President, ISCAN, Bode Ayeku noted: “Ease of Doing Business is a relevant theme in Nigeria at this stage of our socio-economic development. Getting it right will enable us to make significant progress towards achieving the much sought-after diversified and inclusive economy.”
Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Dr Folarin Gbadebo-Smith, said that for national development to happen, Nigeria needs good Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which is driven by good corporate governance.
He said: “For national development to happen, there are certain enablers. You need FDI driven by good corporate governance, investment by expanding the real sector which will lead to job creation and high employment.’’