Abia State has been nominated for the prestigious World Bank 2018 Subnational Ranking Award organized by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) a World Bank assisted council, holding this Wednesday in Abuja.
In a letter addressed to the Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, by Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Office of the Vice President, informing the Governor of the state’s nomination for the second edition of the award, the council commended Abia for implementing what it described as ‘impactful and landmark reforms in 2018.
PEBEC’s letter reads: “In recognition of your immense contribution and support towards driving PEBEC’s overall reform initiatives in 2018, we are pleased to inform you of Abia State’s nominations for the prestigious PEBEC Award in the “World Bank 2018 Subnational Ranking Award” category.
It will be recalled that Abia State is listed by World Bank, among five states in Nigeria making strides to improve the ease of doing business for domestic small and medium scale enterprises in 2018. Abia ranked 35 in the 2014 world bank ranking of states in Nigeria in ease of doing business Under the thematic areas choosing by the World Bank.
Speaking on the nomination of the state for the award, Governor Ikpeazu said it’s a recognition of the state’s effort to improve ease of doing business.
“For me, this recognition by the World Bank through PEBEC is a recognition of our modest effort to engender a conducive environment that will help improve the ease of doing business in our state. Before we came, Abia ranked 35 among the listed states and their improvements in ease of doing business. But in 2018, we were among 5 states in Nigeria listed by the World Bank for improvements in ease of doing business. From 35 place to be among the first 5 is huge. Now we have been nominated by PEBEC which a World Bank Assisted Council for this purpose. We are grateful to God and thank Abians for their support, while calling on our people to bring their investment home. We are also calling on investors to look our way because, we are not only among the top 3 safest states in Nigeria today we are also among the first five ranked by the World Bank with regards to ease of doing business.” The Governor said.
According to the Oduwole, the PEBEC award is aimed at acknowledging and appreciating the efforts of specific arms of government to the ease of doing business.
“In December 2017, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) hosted the inaugural PEBEC Award ceremony. The PEBEC Awards is aimed at acknowledging and appreciating the efforts of specific arms of government, subnational governments, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government, as well as private sector stakeholders who contributed significantly to the ease of doing business intervention of the administration.
“The collaborative efforts and continuous support of these stakeholders have significantly contributed towards improving Nigeria’s business climate and overall competitiveness, in line with a key strategic objective of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).” Oduwole said.
