The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, has
said that Nigeria is losing business to neighbouring countries due to poor
business environment caused by bad business laws and lack of
infrastructure.
The Speaker said this when he received Council members of the Section of
Business Law of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), who paid him a
courtesy visit in his office on Wednesday.
A statement issued by the Speaker’s special adviser on Media and Public
Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan, also added that Dogara charged the Business
Lawyers to contribute to the amendment of business laws in Nigeria in
order to create a better environment for investment.
“We have lost competitive edge even in the West Africa region. Businesses
have migrated to other countries with better business and legal regimes.
If we don’t put the right business environment in place, there’s no way we
can attract investment to this country,” he stated.
Dogara said the best way to solve the problem is by having forums to
improve on the laws of the ýcountry to reflect the dynamics of the present
society and by eliminating ambiguous and obsolete laws governing business
transactions.
He, therefore, urgedý the group to take advantage of the ongoing reform of
the laws and statutes that the House is undergoing to make necessary
amendments, and that they could achieve this by interfacing directly with
the relevant committees, or by making their contributions during public
hearings.
Earlier, leader of the delegation, Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), informed the
Speaker that the Council seeks to partner with the House of
Representatives to host a conference on law reform and economic
development in Nigeria.