The Nigeria Economic Zones Association (NEZ Association) has reiterated that the Free Trade Zone Scheme remains one of Nigeria’s best adopted economic development tool for wealth creation and national growth.
The Executive-Secretary of the Association, Toyin Elegbede made this known during its 2024 maiden intellectual activity, in Abuja.
The body which noted that the current cumulative value of investments from the country’s free zone stood at about $90 billion, called on government at all levels to provide the right environment for free zone investors to operate.
Expressing concern over the decline in FDI from $4.27 billion in 2022 to $2.82 billion at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2023, the body urged government to embrace the global economic matrix which gives free zones an independent status regulated by laws.
According to the association, the government must rejig the system to improve institutional efficiency, conduct reforms on ease of doing business and taxation to, first of all, improve the efficiency of the companies currently operating in Nigeria (free zones) which will in turn, attract more foreign investors.
The body, however urged the government to review the economic advantages and disadvantages of the free zones to the Nigerian economy vis-a-vis modern global practices, rules and regulations of doing business in order to deliver a highly competitive and profitable free zone.
It also recommended government’s transparent posture to investors in terms of zero duty and taxes, free repatriation of investors profits and all other FTZ benefits.
The body further asked government to check overlap activities between the Regulatory Authorities and her agencies like NCS, FIRS, CBN, SON, and ITF to avoid the regular duplication of non-free trade zone activities.
The group also called for the long-delayed guidelines on off-shore banking to be revisited by the CBN while government check partnership deals with investors so that undue advantage will not be taken at the expense of the host community or country.
