The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), the Council responsible for driving reforms to make Nigeria a progressively easier place to do business, has held the second Annual PEBEC Awards in Abuja, Nigeria.
Themed “Recognising the Gold in our Green”, the event took place on Wednesday, April 3rd 2019 at the State House Banquet Hall and was hosted by PEBEC, with Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria and PEBEC Chair; Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and PEBEC Vice-Chair; as well as Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment and PEBEC Secretary in attendance.
The Awards ceremony recognised MDAs and subnationals that implemented impactful and landmark reforms in 2018; as well as key members of the private sector who particularly contributed to driving PEBEC’s overall reform initiatives. Several state Governors, members of the Federal Executive Council, PEBEC members, heads of agencies, Honourable Commissioners, members of the diplomatic corps, CEOs, captains of industry, public and private sector investors, and SMEs were also in attendance.
The Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) clinched the first recognition of the evening, the Executive Order 001 (EO1) Award for the highest transparency and efficiency compliance score on EO1. The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was also honoured with the Reportgov.ng Award, which recognised the MDA with the strongest performance on the platform which enables citizens lodge complaints and provide feedback to the government; while the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) received the Most Improved MDA Award for the highest overall performance improvement in 2018 under the home-grown reform indicators category.
In the “World Bank 2018 Subnational Ranking Award” category which considers how well state government laws and regulations are designed for efficiency, transparency, accessibility, enforceability in courts and easy implementation, Kaduna, Enugu, Lagos, Abia and Anambra were recognised as the top five most reformed states in Nigeria for advancing the most towards the frontier of global good practices.
Speaking at the occasion, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo commended the Hon. Minister of Industry Trade and Investment Dr. Okey Enelamah for his focused and forthright leadership, and also the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry Trade and Investment Dr. Jumoke Oduwole and her team for their tireless efforts in ensuring the implementation of the ease of doing business reforms in the country.
His Excellency stated, “In the past three years of inaugurating PEBEC, Nigeria has implemented more than 140 reforms to make doing business in Nigeria easier and improve overall competitiveness in line with a key strategic objective of the Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP). It is a pleasure to celebrate the phenomenal successes of the PEBEC reforms, but more importantly to recognise specially some of those who made it all possible – our incredibly selfless and committed private sector partners and the sterling performance of many in the public sector.
While giving the welcome speech, PEBEC Secretary and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole reiterated that the Council will continue to work in strong collaboration with key stakeholders in order to create a more conducive environment where small and big businesses are able to do business effectively and with ease.
Other recognition awards of the night included the Integrity Award, won by Mr Omotayo Omoniyi for his demonstration of diligence and integrity. Awardees in other categories such as Legislative Support, Technical Support, and Capacity Building Support included the NBA-SBL, NASSBER, NESG, NSE, the World Bank Group, DFID Nigeria, Financial Derivatives Company, Aelex Legal Arbitrators & Solicitors, Crowncourt Attorneys, Oando Energy Resources and First Bank of Nigeria.
Banwo and Ighodalo, KPMG Nigeria, P&G Nigeria, Deloitte Nigeria and Aluko and Oyebode were also honoured in the award category of Sustained Implementation Support, which recognised private sector supporters of the FG’s ease of doing business intervention through the provision of direct technical support to the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat over an extended period of time.
PEBEC was established in 2016 to oversee Nigeria’s business climate reform agenda. PEBEC’s model aligns with global best practice and includes a strong performance tracking element that is measured by the World Bank Doing Business Index (DBI), which is reported annually.
Signed:
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment (OVP) /
Secretary, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council
