The Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria, on Thursday 26th May 2022, claimed that the ‘conducive business environment’ provided by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had led to the formation, and flourishing of indigenous blue-chip companies in the country.
This was made known by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while on a media tour of the 5-million tonnes per annum (mtpa) BUA Cement Factory in Sokoto State, in the company of over 30 newsmen.
Mohammed listed the blue-chip businesses to include the BUA Cement Factory being inspected, the $2.5 billion Dangote Fertilizer Plant expected to produce 3 million tonnes of Urea every year and the Dangote 650,000 barrels per day oil refinery in Lagos State due to open later in the year.
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Others were reportedly the Lekki Deep Sea Port, one of the most modern seaports in West Africa and the 5,000 barrels per day Modular Refinery in Ibigwe, Imo.
Mohammed pointed out that the aforementioned indigenous giant businesses, which were established and had grown during the tenure of Buhari, were stable, profitable, long-lasting and safe for investments.
He said, “All these projects are beneficiaries of the conducive business environment created by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, under the auspices of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).
“PEBEC has implemented more than 150 reforms since 2016, as well as the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020) – Nigeria’s most significant business legislation in three decades.’’
Specifically, the minister noted that the conditions that made BUA cement to flourish since 2015 when the Buhari administration assumed office included the pioneer status granted to the company, adding the ban on importation of cement, the government’s divestment from the cement industry as well as the backward integration policy, helped the company to flourish.
The Minister further stated, “Thanks to these conditions, BUA Cement has recorded a 300 per cent increase in production between 2015 and now.
“That’s from 3.5 million Tonnes per annum in 2015, to 11 million tonnes per annum presently. For its part, the Sokoto plant is operating at over 90 per cent of installed capacity.
“Because of its location, which is just 100 kilometres to Niger Republic, the plant exports to Niger and Burkina Faso, earning Nigeria much-needed forex.’’
Mohammed, however, clarified that only excess of the cement production was exported, especially during the rainy season while?the majority of the product was for local consumption
He hinted, “The three million tonnes per annum line (IV) of the BUA Cement facility that we have just visited was commissioned by Buhari in January this year. This is one of the most modern cement plants anywhere.
“The plant is the first cement plant in Nigeria to use Liquefied Natural Gas to generate 50MW of power, thereby replacing coal in its kiln. This has made the plant environmentally friendly to also curb climate change.’’
It’s noteworthy the Buhari-led administration had moved to improve the business environment in the country with the creation of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).
PEBEC was set up in July 2016, barely a year after his emergence as President, to remove bureaucratic constraints to doing business in Nigeria and make the country a progressively easier place to start and grow a business.
The action plan of the initiative is targeted at ensuring that perishable agricultural produce earmarked for export is allowed to move freely through Nigeria’s ports.
In 2020, Nigeria reportedly ranked 131 on the global Ease of Doing Business index, up from 145, which was her rank as at 2019.
However, Mohammed obviously failed to intimate the newsmen during the tour the reason the country was still lagging behind as regards electricity supply in spite of all the efforts apparently put in place by the FG.
Or perhaps, he forgot that an environment cannot be classified as conducive or business friendly if power supply, and other factors such as adequate road networks, apt policies and what have you, are nothing to write home about.
More so, the Information Minister equally forgot, or intentionally decided not, to notify the newsmen that only the same set of individuals in Nigeria still had the privilege or ‘license’ to excel their business ideas in the country. Doesn’t it entail pranks?