Document: The Nigeria Investors’ Roadmap And Enabling Environment Strategy

H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (GFRN), has publicly stated his Government’s objective of drawing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in order to alleviate poverty levels in the country, currently estimated at 85%. The Office of the Presidency’s Investment Policy priorities include: “getting the ‘right’ processes and incentives in place for a competitive business climate” as well as “removing administrative bottlenecks to encourage investment.” Pursuant to the objectives set forth in the Cooperation Protocol and Strategic Objectives Agreement signed by the United States of America and Nigeria in September 1999, and specifically in order to facilitate the implementation of the Presidential Investment Policy, USAID commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and The Services Group (TSG) Inc. to prepare the present “Nigeria Investor’s Roadmap” study. The study discusses and analyses the key areas of the regulatory environment for private sector activity which have been found to create barriers to investment around the world: Business Registration, Locating, Employing, and Operating (e.g., Import/Export; Commercial Dispute Resolution; and Taxation) requirements. It also seeks to guide the GFRN in reengineering its legislative and regulatory frameworks for business, in order to make them more internationally competitive, flexible, efficient, transparent, and user-friendly, and thus help foster a more ‘enabling’ investment climate.

The study found that, three years into the transition to civilian administration, many of Nigeria’s interviewed government agencies still remain wedded to command-and-control structures and reflexes, exhibit outdated protectionist tendencies, and continue to inhibit foreign direct investment. Investment procedures generally remain inefficient, opaque, complex, lengthy, and subject to non-statutory facilitation by public officials.