The new Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Bill 2022, also known as the Omnibus Bill, has been forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari for his approval by the National Assembly’s clerk.
This was revealed in a statement released on Friday by Jumoke Oduwole, the president’s special adviser on the Ease of Doing Business/Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).
The executive bill was passed by the House of Representatives in October 2022 and then by the Senate in December 2022.
The bill aims to codify Executive Order 001 (EO1) on Transparency and Efficiency in Public Service Delivery. The bill will also amend some business facilitation laws considered critical to the ease of doing business in Nigeria and establish business climate reforms.
The statement said, “the bill is designed to strengthen ongoing reforms and consolidate legislative provisions that border on ease of doing business in Nigeria. The transmitted bill is a culmination of four years of collaboration of (sic) public and private sector stakeholders since 2018.”
It added, “This includes the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Section on Business Law of the Nigerian Bar Association through the participation of over 40 law firms and consulting firms. The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) are also part of the critical stakeholders.”
The statement further explained that the “Omnibus bill is an intervention of PEBEC to consolidate and amend legislative provisions towards deepening PEBEC reforms and removing bottlenecks for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.”
