• Directs PEBEC DG to seek extension of programme’s lifespan by a year
Vice President Kashim Shettima has charged state governments to accelerate business-enabling reforms to unlock the full potential of the $750 million World Bank-assisted State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme.
Shettima said the charge had become necessary to attract domestic and global capital, enhance local infrastructure, and drive subnational economic growth.
Shettima spoke on Tuesday during a stakeholder meeting on optimising the implementation of the SABER programme at State House, Abuja.
He stated that a fully implemented SABER programme would help create a more predictable and transparent business environment.
He also listed other benefits of the programme to include attracting domestic and foreign investment, strengthening private-sector confidence, reducing the cost of doing business, expanding digital and physical infrastructure, improving access to land and commercial justice systems, and enhancing the competitiveness of the states.
“These outcomes will translate into increased economic activity, higher productivity, job creation, improved internally generated revenue, and better living standards for our citizens,” he stated.
The vice president directed Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Zarah Mustapha-Audu, to initiate moves towards extending the lifespan of the programme by an additional year “so that our states can fully utilise the opportunities at our doorsteps”.
Shettima said Nigeria stood a better chance of facilitating the actualisation of its one trillion-dollar economy drive by fully optimising SABER implementation.
He stated, “I, therefore, encourage us to engage constructively and contribute meaningfully to our deliberations.
“Let us seize this opportunity to unlock the full potential of the SABER Programme and position our States as engines of economic growth, investment, and sustainable development.”
The vice president tied the success of the ongoing reforms of the President Bola Tinubu administration to a conducive and enabling environment for businesses to thrive, maintaining that this can be determined at the subnational level.
According to him, “As a nation, we have embarked on a bold economic reform agenda under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu. The success of this agenda depends significantly on our ability to create an enabling environment for businesses to invest, expand, and create jobs.
“While the Federal Government continues to implement reforms at the national level, the reality remains that many of the conditions that define the experience of investors and businesses are determined at the subnational level. This is why the role of State Governments in the implementation of SABER is critical.”
Earlier, Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, encouraged stakeholders to address identified implementation bottlenecks as the SABER programme delivered its intended outcomes for Nigeria in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Uzoka-Anite expressed optimism that the $750 million performance-based intervention designed by the World Bank technical team and PEBEC Secretariat will be fully accessed by the states.
Giving an overview of the SABER programme and implementation matters, Mustapha-Audu assured that the council remained committed to removing bureaucratic bottlenecks by working with all arms of government, civil society organisations (CSOs), the private sector, and other stakeholders towards achieving the programme’s objectives.
She explained that while the funds were tied to deliverables, progress was being made by participating states to meet all disbursement-linked indicators as stipulated by the programme.
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