The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has sought the collaboration of the NIPC in the area of stepping up the number of both local and International investors in the 41 free trade zones in the country.
Managing director, NEPZA, Prof, Adesoji Adesugba,during a meeting with the NIPC’s executive secretary, Yewande Sadiku, said it was important for the two agencies to work together in a more robust fashion.
According to him, such partnership was the antidote to the several encumbrances hindering the smooth operations of the country’s free zone scheme.
“NEPZA is supposed to be on top of its game in terms of promoting investment. The strategies to industrialising the country as it is with other countries must be people friendly. You have to know your stakeholders very closely to meet their needs and make them happy.
“This is the core mandate of both NEPZA and NIPC. The two agencies have been under carrying out this onerous function and this is why we need to work more closely to ensure the country continues to entice investments into those trade locations.
6“Apparently over the years, we do not know what had happened to those locations. Those geographical entities by now should be leading the industrialisation process because all the incentives are supposed to be there.
7“The collaborative efforts we are going to have with NIPC would be magnetic and very inclusive. We understand that NIPC has the mandate to assist us attract and maintain investments by supporting our service delivery process.
“Ordinarily, NIPC should be the watchdog to ensure that other agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment are positioned to comply with best global industry practices.
“We are therefore seeking the cooperation of the executive secretary of the commission to carefully monitor us so that the Authority meets the basic tenets of investment promotion. This has become vitally important to position Nigeria to grab substantial portion of the world’s investment post COVID-19 pandemic. The world is going to be seeking investments after the pandemic and the process would be highly competitive,’’ Adesugba said.