The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has completed the Seventh National Action Plan (NAP 7.0), following the 30-day extension of the previous completion date of April 6.

Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business/PEBEC Secretary, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

PEBEC, at its meeting held in January, had approved the commencement of NAP 7.0 to run from Feb. 7 to April 7, with a target to deliver 57 reforms within the 60-day accelerator window.

NAP 7.0 marks the end of the 90-day accelerated reform cycle targeted at implementing reforms for improved efficiency and transparency of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Oduwole noted that the completed reforms for the NAP 7.0 included the publication of Insolvency Regulations pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.

According to her, the reforms provide the much-needed support for the operationalisation of the extensive insolvency provisions in CAMA 2020.

She said that public companies would now be able to upload their share registers on Corporate Affairs Commission’s Company Registration Portal (CRP).

“Furthermore, enforcement of compliance with Order 172 on the timeline for Distribution companies (Discos) to complete new connections for maximum demand users to the distribution grid has commenced.

“The reform will improve Discos’ turn-around time for connecting maximum demand users.

“Likewise, the Trademark Registry has resolved previously recurring errors in the manual generation of certificates/recordal documents,’’ Oduwole said.

She commended the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, for her kind and timely support for the implementation of the reforms.

She said that the PEBEC Secretariat would continue to work with MDAs to deliver outstanding reforms for the benefit of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and the Nigerian economy after NAP 7.0 window closed.

PEBEC is chaired by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, while the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Adeniyi Adebayo, serves as the Vice Chairman.

It consists of 13 ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Its membership cuts across high-level representation from the National Assembly and the Judiciary, as well as State Governments, Local Governments and the private sector.

Some of the participating MDAs in the reforms include the CAC, Trademarks Registry (Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment), Citizens and Business Department (Ministry of Interior).

Others are the  Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) as well as the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The NAP 7.0 was designed to reduce the challenges faced by MSMEs across four areas – Agro-Export Implementation Action Plan, Automation Reforms, Regulatory Reforms and Executive Order 01/ReportGov.NG compliance reforms.

The reforms also include the streamlining and simplification of ago-export regulatory practices with a view to boosting the competitiveness of Nigeria’s agro-exports while enhancing Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings as stated in the Agro-Export Plan.