Business
“Till date the task of creating an enabling business environment for the purpose of promoting national prosperity in this country remains a mirage. There is no gain saying that we are not making enough progress. Yes, we have but more still need to be done in order to create change that we all desire. There is evidence to show that Nigeria’s business climate needs to be recreated. Nigeria as a country is still battling poverty and stagnating growth,” he said.
According to him, “In 2004 the World Bank launched the ease of doing business with a view to providing factual information relating to laws and regulations guiding business climates across the globe. This measure ranks economy with an index that is calculated from 10 to zero. Nigeria’s performance over the last eight years has been credible. But the country performed woefully between 2008 and 2016, where Nigeria currently ranked 169 position among 190 economies around the world,” he said.
Shittu said transforming Nigeria’s business environment for greatness and prosperity is not going to be a linear process. He said that it requires commitment, consistency and sincerity of purpose on the part of the business and political leaders and followers. He noted that Nigeria business environment is yearning for innovation in order to fulfil its potentials of stimulating economic prosperity.
In his address, Sunday Oduntan, spokesperson of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, said Nigeria economy is in recession because the electricity sector is not working efficiently. He said the country needs 160,000 megawatts of electricity to have 24 hours power in the country.
Oduntan said the power sector reform is a journey which requires consistency but in Nigeria everything is politicised. He noted that the privatisation of the power sector was not properly done, stating that out of the 11 electricity distribution companies, Discos, only one has funds that belong to foreign investors.
He said others operate on equity and loans, while Yola Disco is now under the control of federal ministry of power. “No Disco is making money from their investments. You cannot make money from power investment in the first 10 years. Let the truth be told, we cannot have uninterrupted power supply in Nigeria in the next five years,” Oduntan said.
Segun Adeleye, president, World Stage Limited, in his welcome address said the event was organised to draw the attention of government and policymakers on the need to invest in innovations. He said with Nigeria projected to be the third most populous country behind India and China by 2050, any diversification now without innovation by businesses and government may be tantamount to running on the same spot.
