The OAL/NIPC Breakfast Meeting was held at the OAL Mediation Centre, 10a Ilabere Avenue, Ikoyi on 13th October 2015. It had in attendance participants from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) as well as members of the press.
The breakfast meeting was designed to create a strong collaboration with the NIPC and open up a Public Private dialogue on improving Nigeria’s investment climate.
The forum identified the constraints to doing business to include extremely weak commercial judicial system, weak legal system, deficient regulatory systems, lack of access to credit, dearth of skilled human resources, tax administration challenges, absence of information for rational decision making and policy inconsistencies.
At the end of the meeting, it was resolved as follows;
- That dependence on oil as the mainstay of the Nigerian economy is not sustainable.
- There is an urgent need to diversify the Nigerian economy.
- An important step towards sustainable diversification is expanding Nigeria’s investment portfolio.
- Government alone cannot diversify Nigeria’s economy. There needs to be a national investment consciousness driven by Nigerians from all sectors of the economy.
- There is a compelling need for a National Consensus on Investment.
- The NIPC should urgently address identified constraints to doing business in Nigeria.
- OAL as part of its development law program should support the NIPC in driving the national consensus, identifying and reviewing enabling investment related laws.
- The National assembly should review the NIPC Act in order to strengthen the Commission to play its crucial coordinating role in promoting investment.
- The NIPC would be better positioned to carry out its cross-cutting investment roles, if it is placed in and supervised by the Presidency in line with international best practice, currently operational in Ghana, Malaysia and Turkey.
- Participants expressed appreciation for the NIPC Pioneer Status and the support it affords to businesses and urged the Federal Government to sustain it.
- Participants commended OAL and NIPC for the very useful initiative and urged them to sustain and take forward the recommendations.
- OAL and NIPC commended members of the media for their commitment to development and urged them avoid sensational journalism that may discourage investors. The media were also enjoined to educate the public on the critical role of the NIPC as a revenue generating agency as well as the incentives they offer investors.
SIGNED:
MR AMOS SAKABA DR WILFRED MAMAH
DIRECTOR INVESTMENT FACILITATION PARTNER, OLISA AGBAKOBA LEGAL,
& INCENTIVE ADMINISTRATION, NIPC DEVELOPMENT LAW GROUP
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