By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba has commended the Bill seeking to position the country’s Free Trade Zones (FTZs) to operate in line with global standards.
Prof Adesugba stated this in Abuja while responding to the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Bill 2022, which recently passed the Senate’s second reading.
The bill seeks to ensure the sustainability of the business climate and to give statutory force to Executive Order 001 of 2017 on the promotion of transparency and efficiency in the country’s business space.
This bill also aims at amending specific laws relating to ease of doing business, including the reconciliation of the provisions of NEPZA Act and the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) to recognise the exemption of the FTZ operators.
Adesugba said , “We have always viewed the call in some quarters to subject the registration of free trade zone companies to the CAMA Act as a farce and not in line with the tenets of the scheme anywhere in the world. It is the responsibility of NEPZA as the regulatory body to carry out that role as a one-stop shop.
“This bill, when eventually passed into law, would restore the confidence of free trade zone operators and enterprises on the country’s capacity and political will to manage the scheme in line with international best practices.”
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