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PEBEC 2nd Annual Awards Recognizes MDAs, Public & private Sector Supporters for Improving Business Climate

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), the Council responsible for driving enabling business environment reforms across all arms of government to make Nigeria a progressively easier place to do business, has held the second Annual PEBEC Awards in Abuja, Nigeria.
The event themed “Recognising the Gold in our Green”, took place on Wednesday, April 3rd 2019 at the State House Banquet Hall.
In attendance were Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria and PEBEC Chair and Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and PEBEC Vice-Chair; as well as Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment and PEBEC Secretary.
The Awards ceremony recognised MDAs and sub-nationals that implemented impactful and landmark reforms in 2018; as well as key members of the private sector who particularly contributed to driving PEBEC’s overall reform initiatives.
Several state Governors, members of the Federal Executive Council, PEBEC members, heads of agencies, Honourable Commissioners, members of the diplomatic corps, CEOs, captains of industry, public and private sector investors, and SMEs were also in attendance.
The Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) clinched the first recognition of the evening, the Executive Order 001 (EO1) Award for the highest transparency and efficiency compliance score on EO1.
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was also honoured with the Reportgov.ng Award, which recognised the MDA with the strongest performance on the platform which enables citizens lodge complaints and provide feedback to the government; while the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) received the Most Improved MDA Award for the highest overall performance improvement in 2018 under the home-grown reform indicators category.
In the “World Bank 2018 Subnational Ranking Award” category which considers how well state government laws and regulations are designed for efficiency, transparency, accessibility, enforceability in courts and easy implementation, Kaduna, Enugu, Lagos, Abia and Anambra were recognised as the top five most reformed states in Nigeria for advancing the most towards the frontier of global good practices.
Speaking at the occasion, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo commended the Hon. Minister of Industry Trade and Investment Dr. Okey Enelamah for his focused and forthright leadership, and also the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry Trade and Investment Dr. Jumoke Oduwole and her team for their tireless efforts in ensuring the implementation of the ease of doing business reforms in the country.
His Excellency stated, “In the past three years of inaugurating PEBEC, Nigeria has implemented more than 140 reforms to make doing business in Nigeria easier and improve overall competitiveness in line with a key strategic objective of the Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP).
“It is a pleasure to celebrate the phenomenal successes of the PEBEC reforms, but more importantly to recognise specially some of those who made it all possible – our incredibly selfless and committed private sector partners and the sterling performance of many in the public sector”.
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, while giving the welcome speech, PEBEC’s Secretary and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment reiterated that the Council will continue to work in strong collaboration with key stakeholders in order to create a more conducive environment where small and big businesses are able to do business effectively and with ease.
Other recognition awards of the night included the Integrity Award, won by Mr Omotayo Omoniyi for his demonstration of diligence and integrity.
Awardees in other categories such as Legislative Support, Technical Support, and Capacity Building Support included the NBA-SBL, NASSBER, NESG, NSE, the World Bank Group, DFID Nigeria, Financial Derivatives Company, Aelex Legal Arbitrators & Solicitors, Crowncourt Attorneys, Oando Energy Resources and First Bank of Nigeria.
Banwo and Ighodalo, KPMG Nigeria, P&G Nigeria, Deloitte Nigeria and Aluko and Oyebode were also honoured in the award category of Sustained Implementation Support, which recognised private sector supporters of the FG’s ease of doing business intervention through the provision of direct technical support to the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat over an extended period of time.
PEBEC was established in 2016 to oversee Nigeria’s business climate reform agenda. PEBEC’s model aligns with global best practice and includes a strong performance tracking element that is measured by the World Bank Doing Business Index (DBI), which is reported annually.
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DBN Awards N13m in Grants to Tech Startups

Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has awarded a total of N13 million in grants to three standout tech startups at the 2025 Techpreneur Summit held in Lagos, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and inclusive growth among Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The winners include: BuyScrap, a digital marketplace for recyclable materials – N6 million; Qiqi Farms, which connects local farmers to hospitality and export markets – N4 million; Eco-Cyclers, a youth-led recycling initiative based in Enugu – N3 million
Alongside the grant awards, DBN also launched a new digital data asset, a first-of-its-kind platform aimed at enabling data-driven decisions within the MSME ecosystem.
The platform offers deep insights into business trends, sector-specific challenges, and growth opportunities—supporting smarter policymaking and targeted investments.
In his keynote address in Lagos, Tony Okpanachi, managing director/ CEO, DBN, described the event’s theme, “CTRL + SHIFT: Tech Empowered Movement for Naija,” as a strategic call to reimagine enterprise development in Nigeria.
“This isn’t just a keyboard shortcut,” he said. “It’s a mindset reset—powered by technology—to build a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient business landscape. From financing to innovation, DBN remains committed to enabling MSMEs to thrive.”
Okpanachi emphasized that the Summit aligns with DBN’s AMPLIFI Strategy, which integrates digital transformation, sustainability, and scalability into its core programs.
He highlighted initiatives such as the Digital Shift Workshops and the Eco-Innovation Challenge as key steps toward embedding innovation in Nigeria’s MSME sector.
Encouraging young innovators, he added: “The future belongs to those bold enough to imagine and build it. DBN is proud to support the ideas that will shape tomorrow.”
A major highlight was the unveiling of the DBN Data Asset—a digital platform designed to provide real-time, evidence-based insights into Nigeria’s MSME landscape.
The platform combines DBN’s proprietary data with external sources like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to offer a comprehensive view of MSME performance by region and sector.
Jeremy Dan Okayi, DBN’s Head of Strategy, Policy & Innovation, described the platform as: “A reservoir of insight, potential, and direction—built on two years of collaboration and shared vision. This tool will support informed decision-making across the public and private sectors.”
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FCCPC Shuts France, Belgium, and Italy Visa Centres in Abuja Over Alleged Consumer Rights Violations

In a bold enforcement action, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), supported by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has sealed off the visa application centres of France, Belgium, and Italy in Abuja over alleged consumer protection breaches and obstruction of regulatory investigations.
The affected centres—located at Mukhtar El-Yakub House in the Central Business District and operated by TLS Contact, a Teleperformance Company—were shut down following reports that they refused to accept formal correspondence from the FCCPC regarding a consumer complaint. The Commission cited further infractions, including obstruction of investigation and alleged assault of its officers during lawful duties.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Mrs. Boladale Adeyinka, Director of Surveillance and Investigations at the FCCPC, explained: “This is an enforcement operation against TLS. On March 25, 2025, we served them a letter to address a consumer complaint, which they refused to accept. Instead, TLS officers assaulted our team, and in a subsequent visit on June 17, they also allegedly assaulted uniformed police officers.”
Citing Section 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), Mrs. Adeyinka emphasized that failure to comply with Commission directives constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment, fines of up to ₦20 million, or both.
TLS has been ordered to appear before the Commission on June 20, 2025, to provide testimony, submit evidence, and make formal depositions. The company may be held liable for any financial losses suffered by applicants due to the disruption of visa services.
Despite multiple requests for comment, management at TLS Contact declined to respond as of press time.
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How and Why N210 Trillion is Missing in NNPCL – CFO

Adedapo Segun, chief financial officer (CFO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has explained why there is a missing sum of N210 trillion in the company’s audited financial statement spanning from 2017 to 2023.
According to Segun, the missing funds are cash calls requested by joint venture (JV) partners and settlement to the JVs.
He spokeat a session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada.
Segun was responding to an alarm raised by the committee over missing N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited financial statement.
Recall that Wadada issued a one-week ultimatum to NNPCL to account for the missing N210 trillion.
Reacting, Segun said, “The N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time.
“That is why you see the description reflecting those two items would be washed out because they are two sides of the same transaction, which is the cash calls by JV partners and the settlement by NNPCL.”
However, Habu Sadeik, a financial analyst, in a post on X on Thursday, said Segun’s response was unsatisfactory.
Saidik faulted NNPCL’s response about the fund discrepancies, noting that something is not right with the audited financial statement.
“Forget about the senators’ lack of knowledge.
“The CFO’s response is not satisfactory. Are you saying that cash calls worth hundreds of trillions are just appearing on your FS only in 2024 without 31 disclosure?
“If it’s a cash call, why hasn’t the disclosure said so?
“Which cash call is over 100 trillion?
“Something is definitely not right, and I hope they retrospectively correct that FS.
“Someone somewhere did a chef’s work,” he wrote on X.
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