Jonas Ezieke, Abuja
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen has pledged that the National Assembly would repeal obsolete laws hindering businesses as part of a broad legislative agenda to improve Nigeria’s competitiveness, attract investment and accelerate economic transformation.
He said the House would also guarantee greater regulatory certainty, reduce the cost of doing business, expand access to finance and strengthen oversight of public institutions implementing economic reforms.
Abbas made the commitments at the Legislative Business Breakfast Meeting held at the National Assembly as part of activities marking the 2026 National Assembly Open Week. The meeting had as its theme: “The Business of Growth: Legislative Priorities for Investment, Competitiveness and Economic Transformation” on Thursday in Abuja.
Declaring the House’s determination to make Nigeria’s economy more competitive, Abbas made five commitments.
“First, on regulatory clarity and legislative predictability, we commit that laws affecting business will be stable, transparent, and made with your input, so that no investor is ever ambushed by a rule they could not foresee.
“Second, on the cost of doing business, we will build on the tax reforms to harmonise levies across all tiers of government, so that one enterprise is not taxed to exhaustion by federal, state and local authorities at the same time.
“Third, on access to finance, we will strengthen, through law and through oversight, the institutions that lend to the real economy, and press for financing that actually reaches the small and medium enterprises that employ most of our people.
“Fourth, on competitiveness, we will repeal the obsolete laws that frustrate enterprise, and legislate to support local manufacturing, agriculture, and our readiness for the continental market.
“And fifth, on delivery, we will use our oversight not to harass the private sector, but to hold public agencies to account for implementing these reforms faithfully and courteously.”
The Speaker said the commitments followed extensive engagement with business leaders and reflected the House’s determination to respond to concerns raised by the organised private sector.
He explained that he deliberately chose to speak after other participants because Parliament must first understand the challenges confronting businesses before making laws.
“I thank you for the candour of this morning’s conversation. I chose to speak last, and deliberately so, because a legislature that wishes to serve the economy must first learn to listen to it. I have heard your presentations and followed the agenda set for us by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. I speak to you not with the usual assurances but with a considered response and firm commitments.”
Abbas began his address by affirming that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms were designed to empower businesses and stimulate private sector-led growth.
“Let me begin with a truth that must anchor everything else I say this morning. The reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, were not undertaken for the benefit of government. They were undertaken for you. Governments do not create wealth. They create the conditions in which wealth can be created, and it is you, the entrepreneurs, the manufacturers, the farmers, the traders and the investors of Nigeria, who turn those conditions into factories, into harvests, into exports and into jobs.
“The President has made it plain that his agenda is private-sector-led. That places you not at the margins of the Renewed Hope Agenda, but at its very centre. And a Parliament that understands this will measure its own success by one test above all, whether the laws it makes help you to invest, to grow and to employ.”
The Speaker acknowledged the economic pressures facing businesses, saying manufacturers and investors had drawn attention to soaring borrowing costs, declining credit to industry, foreign exchange challenges, rising production costs, unstable electricity supply, multiple taxation, port inefficiencies, insecurity and policy uncertainty.
“Let me first prove to you that we heard you clearly. You told us, as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has told the whole nation, that borrowing has become prohibitively expensive, and that credit to the manufacturing sector actually shrank by close to two trillion Naira last year, starving industry of the money it needs to grow.
“You told us that the liberalisation of the exchange rate, though necessary, has raised the cost of the machinery and raw materials you must import. You spoke of power that remains unstable despite higher tariffs, forcing factory after factory to run on costly diesel. You spoke of multiple taxation, of too many agencies collecting too many levies at the same gate despite the recently passed tax laws. And you spoke of the difficulty of clearing goods through our ports, the drag of insecurity on farms and supply lines, and the uncertainty that comes when policy shifts without warning.
“These are not idle complaints. They are the honest testimony of the men and women who create our jobs, and this House has heard them.”
While admitting that recent reforms had imposed hardship on Nigerians, Abbas maintained that they were necessary to restore macroeconomic stability after years of delayed decisions.
“Permit me to place these concerns within the larger picture. The decisions this country took, to remove the costly fuel subsidy, to stop the reckless printing of money to cover deficits, and to unify our fractured exchange rates, were long avoided but could no longer be postponed. They have been hard, and I will not pretend otherwise.
“But the world’s most sober observers now tell us the direction is right. The International Monetary Fund, in its most recent assessment, has commended these reforms for rebuilding confidence and reducing our vulnerabilities, and projects that our economy will grow by more than four per cent this year.
“Yet that same assessment carries a warning we dare not ignore, that poverty and food insecurity in our country remain painfully high. This is precisely the point the Nigerian Economic Summit Group has pressed upon us all: that we must stay the course on reform, but we must now turn these economic gains into visible social progress. Stability at the top means little until it is felt on the factory floor, in the market, and on the family table.”
The Speaker insisted that Parliament had not merely endorsed the reforms but had driven them through legislation.
“And let me be clear that this Parliament has not been a bystander to reform. We have been its legislative engine, and our record is one of concrete action.”
He said the National Assembly had enacted the landmark tax reform laws that came into effect in January, simplifying Nigeria’s tax system, exempting small businesses from heavy tax obligations and reducing multiple taxation.
According to him, lawmakers also passed the Electricity Act, which ended the federal monopoly in electricity generation and distribution, opening the sector to states and private investors and attracting more than $2.8 billion in fresh investment.
He further highlighted the enactment of a new Investments and Securities Act to modernise Nigeria’s capital market and expand access to long-term finance for businesses, as well as legislation establishing six regional development commissions to spread economic growth across the country.
Abbas also cited the recovery of over N60 billion by the House Public Accounts Committee from defaulting companies, the approval of a new national minimum wage, and the expansion of student loans and consumer credit as part of Parliament’s efforts to build an economy that works for businesses and citizens alike.
“This is what our Legislative Agenda promised, an economy placed at the very centre of our work.”
Looking ahead, Abbas said Nigeria must position itself to take advantage of opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“We also see the opportunities that lie just beyond our present difficulties. The African Continental Free Trade Area has opened a single market of more than a billion people, and Nigeria, as the largest economy on the continent, must be equipped to sell into it and not merely to buy from it.
“Our young people are building a digital and creative economy that already earns this nation global respect, our farmland can feed the region if we add value at home, and our abundant gas can power a fresh wave of industry. The Nigerian Economic Summit Group speaks of a trillion-dollar economy within our reach, and this House intends to legislate deliberately for that ambition.”
The Speaker urged the organised private sector to move beyond dialogue by engaging more actively with lawmakers.
“Yet the law can do only so much from a distance. If we are to get this right, we need you as partners, and not merely as petitioners.
“So I ask four things of you. Do not allow this Communiqué to gather dust. Bring it to our relevant committees, on commerce, on trade and investment, on industry, on finance and on banking, as a living working document.
“Come to our public hearings, and come with data, because sound law is built on evidence and not on anecdote. Tell us honestly when a law we have made is not working as intended, so that we can move quickly to amend it.
“And let us, from today, institutionalise this engagement, so that the conversation between Nigerian business and its Parliament no longer waits for an annual breakfast, but becomes a permanent and structured partnership.”
Drawing lessons from other countries, Abbas said South Africa ensures that major economic and labour legislation passes through the National Economic Development and Labour Council, where government, business and labour deliberate before bills get to Parliament.
He said Kenya’s Private Sector Alliance regularly meets Parliament to resolve investment bottlenecks, while in the United Kingdom legislators are embedded in businesses through the Industry and Parliament Trust to better understand the enterprises affected by their laws.
He added that India’s government also consults chambers of industry before finalising the national budget.
“The lesson is the same everywhere: that an economy grows faster when those who legislate and those who invest remain in continuous conversation, and Nigeria will learn it too.”
To institutionalise that engagement, Abbas proposed the establishment of a standing National Assembly and Business Executive Roundtable (NABER), to meet twice every year.
“So let me move us from lesson to action. I propose, here and now, that we institutionalise this gathering. Let us establish a standing National Assembly and Business Executive Roundtable (NABER), convened twice every year, that brings the leadership of both chambers and our economic committees together with the organised private sector, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, organised labour and our development partners.
“Its mission would be simple and serious, to keep the conversation between Parliament and the productive economy continuous, structured and grounded in evidence, rather than occasional and reactive. Its purpose would be fourfold: to review, each half-year, the true state of our business environment; to track the implementation of our reforms and the fate of the commitments we make to one another; to shape a shared, pro-growth legislative calendar for the year ahead; and to surface the obstacles to investment early enough for us to remove them by law.
“The Roundtable should have a permanent home here at the National Assembly Library, so that it endures as an institution and does not depend on the goodwill of any single session.”
Abbas reaffirmed the House’s commitment to supporting the private sector, saying economic growth ultimately depends on businesses creating jobs and making investments.
“Let me close with a commitment. The commitment is that this House, in step with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President, will remain pro-growth and pro-business, because every job you create is a family lifted, and every investment you make is a vote of confidence in Nigeria.”
Leader of the House of Representatives, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, called for stronger and more regular engagement between the National Assembly and Nigeria’s private sector, saying such collaboration is essential to promoting economic growth and deepening democracy.
He said interactions between lawmakers and the organised private sector had not been frequent enough, noting that while the House remained open to ideas and suggestions from stakeholders, direct engagements with business groups were still limited.
According to him, the National Assembly was committed to making the country better by expanding democratic space, strengthening institutions and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
The House Leader stressed that peace, democratic governance and economic growth were closely linked, adding that sustainable development could only be achieved when businesses were able to flourish.
He said the breakfast meeting was designed to give lawmakers the opportunity to listen directly to investors, entrepreneurs and other private sector players who understand the realities of doing business and whose experiences could help shape better legislation.
Ihonvbere also expressed confidence in the leadership of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, saying the House remained committed to supporting policies that would improve the country’s investment climate.
He assured participants that members of the House and the relevant committees were available to engage with stakeholders during and after the meeting, urging participants to freely share their views and recommendations.
The House Leader thanked expressed optimism that the meeting would open up new opportunities for collaboration between the legislature and the private sector.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, Hon. Ahmed Munir, reaffirmed the commitment of the 10th National Assembly to aligning its legislative agenda with the needs of the organised private sector to improve Nigeria’s business environment and drive economic growth.
Munir said the legislature was working to ensure that commercial laws reflected the realities of the marketplace and supported investment, competitiveness and innovation.
He said the National Assembly could no longer make laws in isolation and was committed to working closely with businesses to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, improve regulatory certainty and create a more predictable environment for enterprises to thrive.
According to him, the House, under the leadership of Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, is focusing on reforms aimed at streamlining regulations, strengthening infrastructure, supporting the digital economy and harmonising tax legislation to reduce the burden of multiple taxation on businesses.
Munir said lawmakers were also counting on active collaboration from the private sector, urging business leaders to provide industry insights and constructive feedback that would help shape more effective legislation.
He highlighted several bills being considered by the House to strengthen commerce and investment, including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Bill, which has passed second reading and is scheduled for a public hearing on July 27.
He said the proposed legislation would provide the legal framework needed to enhance trade facilitation, deepen regional integration and enable Nigerian businesses to compete more effectively in the continental market.
The committee chairman also listed the Climate Resilience Commerce Bill, which has been passed by the House and awaits Senate concurrence, the Sale of Goods Act Amendment Bill to modernise Nigeria’s commercial laws for e-commerce and digital transactions, the Digital Economy Mainstreaming Bill, the Sustainable Finance Bill, the Bankruptcy Act Amendment Bill and proposed amendments to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council Act to strengthen the protection of geographical indications for Nigerian products.
He said the bills formed part of a broader legislative effort to modernise Nigeria’s commercial framework, attract long-term investment, promote innovation, strengthen supply chains and align the country’s business laws with international standards.
Munir added that the House was also supporting reforms in the judiciary, education, healthcare and security to create an enabling environment for businesses, expressing confidence that the 10th National Assembly would be remembered as one of the most productive in Nigeria’s history.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, underscored the importance of legislative support in driving Nigeria’s economic reforms, saying the quality of laws enacted by the National Assembly will significantly influence investment, enterprise growth and the country’s global competitiveness.
Oduwole said a strong legislative framework was critical to providing certainty for investors, strengthening policy implementation and supporting long-term private sector growth.
She noted that the Federal Government’s drive to promote investment, industrialisation, export expansion and private sector development depended largely on effective collaboration between the executive and the legislature.
According to the minister, the diversification of Nigeria’s non-oil exports remains a key priority under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment working closely with the National Assembly and other stakeholders to achieve the administration’s target of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Oduwole said recent data from the Nigerian Economic Summit Group’s Business Confidence Monitor showed that Nigeria’s business environment remained in expansion territory for the sixth consecutive month in June 2026, with the Business Performance Index rising to 104.6 points, reflecting growing confidence in the country’s ongoing economic reforms.
She highlighted key reforms undertaken by the Tinubu administration, including foreign exchange reforms, fuel subsidy removal, the enactment of the Investments and Securities Act, and new fiscal and tax policies, describing them as measures aimed at creating a more conducive regulatory environment for investors, improving productivity and generating employment.
The minister also appealed for the continued support of the 10th National Assembly in advancing critical economic legislation, including bills on intellectual property, the domestication of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and other reforms designed to strengthen Nigeria’s investment and business climate.
She reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working with the legislature to deepen investor confidence and support sustainable economic growth.
Executive Secretary of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Mr. Clement Nwankwo, identified insecurity and excessive taxation by government agencies as two of the biggest obstacles to investment and business growth in Nigeria.
Nwankwo commended the leadership of the House of Representatives for sustaining the National Assembly Open Week initiative and creating a platform for dialogue between lawmakers and the private sector.
He stressed the need for greater attention to issues affecting the business environment, noting that recent inflation figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that food inflation remained particularly high.
According to him, worsening insecurity has prevented many farmers from cultivating their land and disrupted the movement of agricultural produce across the country, with adverse consequences for businesses and the wider economy.
Nwankwo said addressing insecurity was essential to improving investor confidence, arguing that many Nigerians were reluctant to invest because of the prevailing security challenges.
He also criticised what he described as the growing tendency of government agencies to prioritise revenue generation at the expense of businesses, saying multiple taxes, levies and charges had become major disincentives to investment despite ongoing tax reform efforts.
He called on the House Committees on Commerce and other relevant committees to strengthen their oversight of government agencies to ensure that businesses were not subjected to excessive taxation and other practices that hinder growth.
The PLAC Executive Secretary urged the National Assembly to use its oversight powers to protect businesses, promote a more investment-friendly environment and support enterprise development as part of efforts to accelerate economic growth.
For a better society
Follow us across our platforms:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/
You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2
