FG Partners OPS On Business Reforms, Aims For Easier Import, Export Processes

As part of efforts to ease the business environment to boost Nigeria’s economy, the federal government has entered into collaboration with the Organised Private Sector (OPS) on the reformation of Immigration Services to enhance businesses for economic growth.

The minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed this after a strategic meeting with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) held yesterday in Lagos.

Tunji-Ojo said that the government, in conjunction with all other stakeholders in the real economy, is making major reforms across the Nigeria Immigration Services to allow the private sector to do their business with ease, especially concerning the collection of various documents for importation and exportation of their goods and services.

The OPS complained about the bottlenecks in securing various documents from the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) while carrying out their businesses across the border, stating that such bottlenecks have also affected foreign investors.

Speaking with the journalists after the closed-door meeting with NECA, Tunji-Ojo said the Ministry and NECA have agreed to set up a joint committee to work on the various areas that need to be reformed, saying the committee would come up with its result within a week.

The minister disclosed that various reforms are in progress, especially about expatriate quota, business permits, new visas and CERPAC, saying that “the most important thing is that we have to take decisions that will protect the interest of Nigerians and encourage investment. So, we have to come up with creative strategies, and I think that is what we have been able to do.”

The minister stated that the effort the Ministry has made on contactless passport renewal which was launched in Europe to make passport renewal easy for Nigerians in the disposal such that they could fill all the forms at the comfort of their home leveraging technology and get their passports without needing to travel far.

The director general of NECA, Adewale Oyerinde said the meeting was strategic toward reforming the way businesses are done in the country.

He appealed to the federal government to ensure private sector-driven reforms, saying that “OPS aligned with these reforms and the most important part of it is the consensus that we have agreed on, that there will be a committee to work together to review a couple of reforms and also clarity.

“We will continue to look at the issues that we align in the course of implementation.”

Oyerinde urged the federal government through the Ministry to consistently engage with business stakeholders as this will make growth faster and make implementation and compliance seamless within the context of the private sector.