…Policies, laws, are critical Ingredients of a Sustainable Ease of Doing Business Environment.
By Abdul-Kadir Abdullah
The Managing Director Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO)-Ease of Doing Business Secretariat, Mr. Kelvin Uwaibi has praised the Edo State House of Assembly for the support and speedy passage of certain laws that relate to making the State’s business environment friendly and attractive to investors.
This was contained in a message to journalists in his office in Benin City to address issues on the contributions of the Edo State House of Assembly to the State’s vision of making Edo State the preferred investment destination for investors.
Uwaibi noted that the 7th assembly in particular has been very supportive in passing the relevant bills into law with a view to remove bottlenecks in doing business in the State and accelerating a business-friendly environment in a manner that will promote and make Edo State attractive to investors.
“Policies and Laws are Critical Ingredients of a Sustainable Ease of Doing Business reformed environment” He noted.
Enumerating some of the merits of the laws which have improved the business environment in Edo State, Uwaibi listed: the Edo State Investment Promotion Law 2021; the Private Property Protection Law of 2022; the bill for the establishment of the Edo State Public Building Maintenance Agency; the bill for a law to establish the Edo Diaspora Agency also passed into law in 2022 and the passage of a bill to repeal the Rural Electricity Board Law of 1972 to re-enact a law that makes provision for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for the residents of Edo State, paving the way for the establishment of an electricity market in the State.
He added that these bills passed into law by the Edo State House of Assembly have contributed immensely to the success story recorded thus far in the State’s business environment.
According to him, “the House of assembly has made tremendous contributions to the success story we have recorded in this State as it concerns the business environment.
“We quite appreciate this 7th assembly ably led by RT. Hon. Marcus as the Speaker. Maybe because he is young and committed to the socioeconomic growth of Edo and understands the issues.
“Under his watch as a speaker, the Edo State Investment Promotion Law 2021 was passed and was assented to by His Excellency Governor Godwin Obaseki. Also, the Private Property Protection Law of 2017 was repealed and passed in 2021. Further, the law that established an electricity market in the State”.
“For example, what Edo has achieved with the Private Property Protection Law alone are numerous. You will agree with me that before that law was passed, it was difficult to build or own a landed property in this state. It affected investments in the real estate sector. People could not own landed properties in Edo and it brought a huge set back to us as a state. But within a short time of the passage of the law, you can see tremendous growth in our real estate.” Mr Uwaibi added.
Explaining the significance of the new electricity law, the ESIPO MD noted Edo is blazing the trail as the first State to have taken the initiative.
“It was only after 2-days or so that the Senate passed an electricity bill to boost power production in the country. This has also put us in an advantage. It further opens electricity market in the state. It will enable us expand the Independent Private Power source which is already in place. I mean, Ossiomo Electricity and to leverage on the passed law.”
Continuing he said “The passage of the bill means better days for electricity consumers in the state, who will now benefit from proper regulation of the electricity sector, which would allow operators a more predictable business environment. The manufacturing sector will be more stable and profitable because electricity is very critical to that sector.”
“We have other bills that we expect to push for passage soonest. For example, the Public Private Partnership bill that will give direction on private sector participation or collaboration with the government on infrastructure. We need policy backing, we need legal backing to achieve sustainability in all of our present reforms. They are critical ingredients for a Sustainable Ease of Doing Business Reformed environment.” He concluded.
