Federal Govt Scores SEC, Others High On Reforms

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has emerged as one of the top scorers in the federal government’s Regulatory Reform Action Plan, which is targeted at promoting ease of doing business.

The plan, which is championed by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) is targeted at equipping regulatory agencies that facilitate business environments to aid their efficiency.

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima noted that “the long-term success of PEBEC hinges on Nigeria’s ability to institutionalise reform capabilities, foster deep collaboration across government, and maintain a commitment to continuous improvements of businesses.”

He added that the country is currently facing peculiar times, which requires developing solutions to improve the Ease of Doing Business across all sectors.

The Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing business, Dr Jumoke Oduwole said, “these reforms operationalise earlier codified provision in the Business Facilitation Act 2022, and directly impact productivity and competitiveness of Nigeria’s economy.”

Speaking after the release of the Plan’s results in Abuja at the weekend, director-general of SEC Dr. Emomotimi Agama said out of the 36 MDAs assessed, the report released by PEBEC puts the SEC as one of the highest with 100 per cent.

He said, “we are excited at this achievement and it is a call to do more in ensuring that investors find it easier doing business in the Nigerian capital market.

“We are committed to accelerating the development of the capital market in a manner that would boost wealth creation, attract investments and create jobs for Nigerians.”

According to Agama, his team was appointed by President Bola Tinubu to change the narrative of the capital market and reposition it to the path that would boost economic growth.

He said, “we are bringing on board innovation, development. We are going to change the narrative of the Nigerian capital market. We are going to turn it around. That is the essence of our being appointed by Mr. President. With this team, we assure Nigerians that we’re going to do the best that the President has the desire to do.

“Our desire is to move this market forward and to help in achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy in the shortest possible time.”

Other top performers are the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQs),the Nigeria Maritime Safety and Administration Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) all having a 100 per cent score and successfully completing the requirements of the action plan.