Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has stressed the need to enact laws tailored towards promoting growth, innovation and transparency. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 17th yearly International Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos, at the weekend, he argued that policies are powerful tools by which the government expresses its intention to address specific issues of development and governance.

Represented by Secretary to the State Government, Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, he added that policies are windows through which investors get to know the focus of government and also a guide to taking appropriate and profitable decisions that impact the society positively.

With the theme: “The Nigerian Business Landscape – Priorities for Law, Policy and Regulation,” the governor described Nigeria as having a diverse and dynamic economy that is full of opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors. He, however, acknowledged challenges hindering the growth of business in the country.

According to him, the challenges are internal and peculiar to Nigeria, adding that some, which are external and global, contribute to hobble growth.

“The fact, however, remains that if we succeed in addressing our local challenges through appropriate policies, legal and regulatory frameworks, we would have developed an economic eco-system that is strong enough to withstand external shocks and uncertainties,” he stated. He argued that one of the key ways the government could support businesses is by creating a favourable regulatory environment and developing policies that would enhance ease of doing business.

Government regulation, Sanwo-Olu explained, is aimed at promoting fairness, transparency and accountability in the marketplace, while also protecting the interests of all stakeholders including investors and the public.

“Our goal as an administration is to continually strengthen the regulatory environment designed to fast track business growth and ensure that businesses operate within the ambits of established rules and standards. My administration is also committed to simplifying the process of doing business in the state by constantly reviewing official processes, rules and procedures with a view to further promoting and ensuring ease of doing business in our state.

“We are committed to a continuous improvement of our judicial system in collaboration with the NBA to improve the speed of adjudication in line with the tenets of fairness and the rule of law,” he stated.

In his speech, NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau emphasised the need to consider physical and social infrastructural deficit with a view to creating the right regulatory framework that will attract partnerships for sustainable growth and development.

To him, rules and regulations must at all times be geared towards promoting peace and generating growth and the empowerment of citizens. He explained that the plight of lawyers and the need to provide better remuneration made NBA come up with Legal Practitioners’ Remuneration for Business, Legal Service and Representation 2023.

“When fully implemented, it will generate prosperity and empowerment amongst us. Closely related to this is the rules of professional conduct for legal practitioners 2023. We have decided to take the bull by the horn. The fight against terrorism financing and anti-money laundering is a legal fight and there is no profession better positioned to fight this than the legal profession,” he declared.

To demonstrate good faith and commitment, he stated, “we have decided that the rules of professional conduct must be amended to incorporate guidelines and regulations in respect to anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing, to be part of our rules and professional conduct and that is what we have done.”

He added, “we have demonstrated our ability to self-regulate ourselves. We don’t want any EFCC, NFIU, ICPC or any of the regulatory agencies shutting our accounts.

“We have said to them that we will regulate ourselves and put up a structure through which they can monitor any appearance of money laundering or terrorism financing.”

In his presentation, Country Director of World Bank Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, explained that it is important for the government to create the right environment to attract investment by promoting rule of law, good governance and investment in human capital development.