Vice President Kashim Shettima Tuesday, implored 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 spoke at a stakeholder meeting on optimising the implementation of the SABER programme at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, enabling a thriving business environment nationwide has become necessary to attract domestic and global capital, enhance local infrastructure, and drive subnational economic growth.
He noted 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.
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.”
READ ALSO: Ebola: FG Boosts Land Border, Airport Surveillance, Screening
On her part, the 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.
Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Zarah Mustapha-Audu, while giving an overview of the SABER programme and implementation matters, 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.
