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Communiqué Issued Following the 13th Annual Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) held from the 26th to 28th of June, 2019 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

INTRODUCTION

Since the 12th Annual Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) held in Abuja, Nigeria has suffered low gross domestic product (GDP) growth, sharp decline in foreign direct investments (FDIs), increased youth unemployment rate (36.5%) amidst a geometrically growing population. The country has also witnessed the inauguration of a new government, accentuating the necessity for the Nigerian government at all levels to take stock and revise strategy towards re-positioning the Nigerian economy. In the effort to support the economic reform agenda, the NBA-SBL organized its 13th Annual Business Law Conference with the theme “Growth, Investment and Employment: Beyond Rhetoric.”

The Conference opening ceremony/dinner was held on 26th June. The event was graced by the Hon. Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, JSC, CFR, eminently representing the Chairman of the occasion, the Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, CFR, Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Distinguished Guest Speakers: Rt. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker, House of Representatives and His Excellency, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State, as well as other renowned personalities including domestic and international business leaders, legal practitioners, regulators and entrepreneurs.

Between 27th and 28th June, the Conference comprised fourteen sessions (six plenary sessions and eight breakout sessions) in which experts examined and analyzed various knotty issues vis-à-vis the Nigerian economy. The topics discussed included:- A Triage on the Nigerian economy; Health, Security and Education – Building a Foundation for Inclusive Growth; Moving from Crude Export to Value Addition; Leading the Charge – The Private Sector and the Nigerian Economy; Smarter Regulation; Making Mining Work in Nigeria; Improving Financial Services as a Catalyst for Growing Micro, Small And Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs); #MeToo – Sexual Harassment in the Workplace; and The New Era of Taxation in Nigeria.

OBSERVATIONS:

Key issues identified by panelists and other delegates include:

1. A very high rate of youth unemployment, and astronomical population growth.
2. Lack of a mandatory universal healthcare system/program, and severe under-funding in States making efforts to provide basic primary health coverage. Also, poor infrastructure, and in practical terms almost a wholesale lack of health insurance coverage (save for the top echelon of society).

3 Out-dated laws and, notably, the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990 (CAMA) and, as a corollary, the urgent need for assent by the Executive to the Companies and Allied Matters Repeal and Re-Enactment Bill 2019 (CAM Bill).

4. Insecurity and insurgencies fueled by socio-economic issues, such as unemployment and underemployment, low educational proficiency, lack of healthcare, housing, and extreme discontent caused primarily by the foregoing factors.
5. Lack of clarity of tax laws, rules, and regulations, and inconsistent applications of same. Equally disconcerting is the disconnect between taxation and social benefits in infrastructure and public utilities, such as roads, power, healthcare, education and security.
6. In the oil and gas sector, the need to have a robust and sustained policy on value addition. The policy needs to be mutually beneficial to all stakeholders, including the Federal Government, investors and operators in the industry.
7. An inefficient dispute resolution and judicial system, which includes commercial disputes taking grossly inordinate duration at the trial courts, unmeritorious appeals, and various other inefficiencies. The foregoing are quite apart from the difficulties associated with access to justice caused by factors, such as decay in infrastructure, de-motivated administrative personnel, and lack of modern amenities including technology.
8. Grossly insufficient investment in the agriculture value chain, to transform yield in livestock and dairy products, food crops, and funding value addition including storage, transportation, packaging and export of agriculture and allied products.
9. Whereas, the Federal Government has developed some innovative funding mechanisms for MSMEs, there continues to be a dearth of funding for them resulting in a stifling of the sector that employs approximately 80% of the labour force, and accounts for approximately 50% of GDP.
10. The Nigerian Government’s delay in signing the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which would be to the country’s disadvantage, long term. The AfCFTA was the flagship plenary topic at the 12th NBA-SBL International Business Conference in June 2018, and the in-depth and incisive discourse provided a unique platform for further stakeholder consultations on the subject. However, since raising the issue at the 13th Conference and, just before issuing this Communique, the Federal Government signed the Agreement, thus evincing that even the 12th Conference was beyond rhetoric.
11. Neglect, illegal activities, and lack of transparency in the mining sector.
12. #MeToo – Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. The need to create an environment conducive to protecting victims and, importantly, providing swift recourse to enforcing rights and disciplining offenders.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Extensive deliberations and discussions from participants resulted in the following resolutions/recommendations:

Government

1. Diversifying from oil – investments should be made in the five critical stages of the agricultural value chain, that is, production, transportation, storage, processing and export.
2. Government should remove VAT from locally produced LPG and, instead, impose tariffs on imported LPG in order to encourage local production, availability and domestic utilization of gas.
3. The oil sector should be liberalized – government should allow more flexibility in terms of pricing to encourage investments in the sector.
4. Government should move away from commercial infrastructures which are financeable by the private sector and, instead, work on improving transparency and encourage market determination of pricing.
5. Government should build investor confidence by providing a transparent, fair, and inclusive tax regime to all the stakeholders thus enhancing the ease of doing business.
6. There is an urgent need for rapid human capital development and investments across health, education, agriculture, security and other sectors to tackle unemployment while keeping population growth in check through family planning and controlled immigration.
7. Healthcare should be policy-driven – to ensure broad health insurance coverage, the federal laws governing health insurance should move from ‘may’ to ‘shall’ – insurance should not be optional for employers.
8. Government should demonstrate the political will to tackle insecurity, professionalize the Nigerian security apparatus, and secure Nigeria’s borders.
9. Financial inclusion for the youth should be prioritized to enable them access loans and other entrepreneurship benefits.
10. Policy formulation in Nigeria should be more consultative and inclusive.
11. The Federal Government should ensure that the licensing regime in the mining sector is coherent and made transparent in order to attract and retain investments in the sector. Also, the government needs to immediately address issues of insecurity and illegal mining activities, as well as jurisdiction between the Federal Government and State Governments.

Lawyers and the Private Sector

12. We should develop a high sense of patriotism, optimism, and sell the Nigerian brand.
13. Businesses should establish clear policies prohibiting sexual harassment in their respective organizations, including severe sanctions for those who violate the policy.
14. Lawyers should enhance capacity in the area of international trade and investment law, particularly with the advent of AfCFTA.
15. Lawyers are encouraged to develop capacity in accounting in order to enhance their practice as tax lawyers.
16. Lawyers should refrain from filing frivolous actions and impeding the swift administration of justice.

Commitments of the NBA-SBL

The NBA-SBL will:

1. Develop a policy against sexual harassment for consideration and adoption by law firms;
2. Push for Smarter Regulation and, in doing so, engage all levels of governments, as well as other relevant stakeholders; and
3. Work with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to reform and adapt the rules of professional conduct in line with modern realities, as well as fostering transparency and discipline.

Communiqué signed by:

Seni Adio, SAN (Chairman, NBA-SBL)

Dr. Adeoye Adefulu (Chairman, NBA-SBL 13th Annual Business Law Conference Planning Committee)

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