The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to ensuring Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) comply with Executive Order 001 (EO1) on Transparency and Efficiency in the Nigerian Business Environment.
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business and Secretary, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), said this on Thursday in Abuja.
Oduwole restated PEBEC’s promise to continuously track and keep the business community updated on MDA’s performance through its Executive Order report.
She said in the PEBEC’s 2022 EO1 Compliance Report, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) performed the best with 81.11 percent.
She said the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC) came in second and third with 78.68 percent and 68.37 percent, respectively.
The PEBEC secretary said the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) came in fourth with 64.59 percent and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) came in fifth with 63.68 percent.
According to Oduwole, the codification of EO1 directives in the Business Facilitation Act 2022 is a major development in the efforts to entrench EO1 in the psyche of the Civil Service.
She expressed optimism that the legal provisions enshrined in it would serve as a stimulus for more transparent and efficient public service delivery in Nigeria.
On penalties for noncompliance, Oduwole said there were penalties for public office holders in the public service rule.
She, however, called on the private sector to report cases of corruption or abuse of the act.
She urged Nigerians to explore the Business Facilitation Act 2022 to ensure the reduction of most bottlenecks encountered in doing business in the country.
The secretary also called on the media to collaborate with PEBEC to create more awareness among the public about the benefits of the order.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the EO1 was issued as the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s first executive order on May 18, 2017.
It is meant to strengthen the implementation of business climate reforms and deepen collaboration among MDAs by instituting a systemic change management process for reforms.
EO1 mandates MDAs to submit monthly reports to the PEBEC Secretariat, the offices of the Head of Service (HOS) of the Federation, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and SERVICOM.
The PEBEC, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, was established in July 2016 by Buhari to remove critical bottlenecks and bureaucratic constraints to business in Nigeria.
(NAN)
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