“Stop Extorting Businesses” — VP Osinbajo Warns Government Agencies

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has warned government agencies to stop the extortion of businesses in order for Nigeria to improve on the ease of doing business ranking.

Speaking on Friday during the virtual edition of the Presidential Policy Dialogue hosted by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Osinbajo said the government aimed to improve the Nigeria’s status by making it feature in the top 100 nations on the World Bank Doing Business Index Ranking.

He called on private sector to lead the charge for Nigeria’s economic growth and development by keying into the Economic Sustainability Plan of the Federal Government.

“I take this opportunity to encourage the private sector to be proactive in leading the charge against recession and poverty in our country. The Federal Government is not under any illusion that it can do this on its own.”

“The opportunities that now exist in the short-term in agriculture, infrastructural development, housing construction, in renewable energy, digital technology development, mining, financial inclusion, healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturing call for the private sector to take the bull by the horn and make them a reality.

“The government developed the Economic Sustainability Plan with a stimulus package of N2.3tn to give fillip to the economy across various sectors. Based on the assumption of the price of crude averaging out at $30 per barrel throughout the year, we anticipate an economic growth of about -0.59% in 2020.”

Accordin to Osinbajo, the ESP was designed to boost production, prevent business collapse, and provide liquidity.

He added that the ESP would encourage the deployment of labour-intensive approaches and direct labour efforts in sectors and sub-sectors such as agriculture, light manufacturing, housing construction and family maintenance.

Osinbajo said it also plans to ramp up infrastructural investment in roads, solar power, bridges and communications technologies, adding that it is intended to do all this while extending protection to the poor and other vulnerable groups in our society.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the Companies and Allied Matters Bill 2020, to make it easier and cheaper for small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria.