…Demands NIPC Office in Lagos
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the federal government to either return its abandoned properties littered across Lagos state to the state government which is the original owner of the land or give them out on lease to the private sector.
The President of the chamber, Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase who made this call in a press briefing in Lagos recently argued that there was an urgent need for the government to expedite the process of procurement of relevant title documents in order to facilitate their transfers for effective uses.
While expressing worry over the economic and security implications of the abandoned properties which included the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) properties, the old Federal Secretariat, the old National Assembly Complex at the Tafawa Balewa Square and the Independent building that used to house the Defence Ministry and former Federal Ministry of Commerce at Tinubu Square, he noted that beyond the economic waste that the situation represented, some of them served as hideouts for hoodlums, criminals and miscreants.
“The buildings thus pose security risks to Lagos residents. We urge the Federal Government to either return the property to Lagos state government which is the original owner of the land or give them out on lease to the private sector. There is an urgent need for the government to expedite the process of procurement of relevant title documents in order to facilitate their transfers for effective uses”, he said.
The LCCI President also expressed worries that the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) had no office in Lagos which he said was the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria adding that the implication of this development was that [private sector players had been shuttling between Lagos and Abuja for various approvals from NIPC.
He maintained that the interface of the NIPC was frequent and critical to achieving the objective of promoting investment and creating jobs.
“We urge the government to intervene in correcting this unusual situation. We need a Lagos NIPC office that will have powers to substantially attend to all needs of investors”, he submitted.
While acknowledging the fact that digital applications bring tremendous value to processes and enhances efficiency in any system, he however agreed that this was no less true for government operations including the bureaucracy.
He continued,” Therefore, we urge that the scope of digital applications and the use of technology be increased to promote efficiency across MDAs. This will reduce human interface, increase speed of transactions and improve efficiency. We acknowledge that some of these have started as part of the Ease of Doing Business programme of government. The Corporate Affairs Commission processes is an example”.
Photo: Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Mr. Muda Yusuf; President, LCCI, Mr. Babatunde Ruwase; Deputy President, LCCI, Mrs.Toki Mabogunje and Vice President, LCCI, Dr. Micheal Olawale-Cole during a Press Briefing to set Agenda for the President-Elect of Nigeria and the Government recently in Lagos .
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