Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has urged Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of government to prioritize data sharing and dialogue, which are central to streamlining the business environment and enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
On Wednesday, the Vice President implored MDAs, as well as members of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), to deepen synergy to ensure a more enabling business climate in the country.
This was disclosed in a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), on April 16, 2025.
Ease of Doing Business
According to Shettima, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains committed to fostering a robust, streamlined business environment that supports ease of doing business.
- Speaking during the closing session of the PEBEC Retreat for heads of MDAs and MDA Reform Champions in Abuja, Senator Shettima emphasized that the goal is to ensure Nigeria remains an attractive destination for investors.
- He highlighted that data sharing and dialogue among MDAs are key pathways to fast-tracking synergy, which would ultimately contribute to the nation’s prosperity.
According to the statement, VP Shettima “urged heads of MDAs to prioritize joint planning, data sharing, and common KPIs where their work intersects,” and encouraged them to break what he described as the culture of “this is not my mandate.”
“Let us embrace interagency task teams for critical reforms, rather than rely on isolated mandates. Where conflicts arise, resolve them through dialogue. Where gaps exist, close them with innovation. And where progress is made, institutionalize it. This is how we build a government that works—not in fragments, but in sync,” he stated.
- The Vice President emphasized that MDAs must deepen collaboration, noting that the business of government is too complex to be addressed in isolation.
- He also declared that the era of buck-passing on government mandates was over, adding that it was time to end bureaucratic turf wars.
“The time for bureaucratic turf wars is over. Nigeria’s economic and social future depends on what we, the stewards of public institutions, choose to do today.
“Our citizens are watching. Our investors are waiting. And time is not on our side. We must move from policy to performance, from ambition to execution, from silos to synergy. This retreat and future engagements must birth a culture of action, accountability, and cross-agency collaboration,” he stated.
Shettima urged MDAs to collectively simplify processes, eliminate duplication, and leverage technology to improve transparency.