International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue XI, November 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
Ease of Doing Business Policy and Efficiency of Public Enterprise in Nigeria
Akujuru, Chukunonye A. (PhD)1, & Enyioko, Newman C. (PhD)2
1Department of Political Science, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
2Medonice Consulting and Research Institute, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Abstract: The study examined the relationship between ease of doing business policy and efficiency of public enterprise in Nigeria. The population of study consisted of all the people in Nigeria (201,139,589) based on 2016 national population estimate. A sample of 554 respondents was selected from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria for the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics that were used to analyse data in this study included: percentages, frequency distribution, rating scales, ranking and summations. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient (r) was used to test the four hypotheses formulated in this study. The study found that to a very large extent ease of doing business policy aids the public enterprises to maintain efficiency and effectiveness in their operations. The study revealed that ease of doing business policy helps the public sector to maintain sustainable development. The study further revealed that ease of doing business policy: Facilitates the entry and exit of goods, defines clear timelines for net exports proceeds forms to be processed by all relevant agencies, enforces the mandatory 3-day timeline for pre-shipment inspection agents to issue clean certificates of inspection, ensures sanctity of contact and enforcement, The study identified the problems hampering ease of doing business policy in Buhari administration as long fiscal dominance by the federal government, economic instability in Nigeria, non-reform in ease of doing business policy in Nigeria to address the constitutional issue of fiscal powers among the three tiers of government, problem of corruption in federal and state governments, inefficient allocation of resources, changing government policies, poor debt management and optimal use of limited resources government, lack of political will on the part of federal government and lack of fiscal indiscipline. From the test of the hypotheses in this study it is obvious and conclusive that: There is significant relationship between ease of registering business and efficiency of public enterprise in Buhari administration, there is no significant relationship between simplifying the mode of paying taxes and efficiency of public enterprise in Buhari administration, there is no significant relationship between access to electricity and efficiency of public enterprise in Buhari administration and there is no significant relationship between port operations and efficiency of public enterprise in Buhari administration. The study, therefore, recommends that government at all levels must develop a strong political will that ensures their commitment to implementing the objectives of ease of doing policy so as to attract foreign investors and a large number of local entrepreneurs’
Keywords: Ease of Doing Business, Business Policy, Efficiency, Public Enterprise, Buhari Administration
I. INTRODUCTION
President Buhari’s administration is on record as being the first to consciously determine to address Nigeria’s perennially low ranking in global ease of doing business (EDB)/ competitive ratings, acknowledging inevitability of taking composite reform actions to significantly improve Nigeria’s EDB rankings. This is commendable, given anxieties caused by the President’s five-month delay in constituting his cabinet, inclement global and national macro-economic landscape headlined by shrinking government revenues from falling crude prices and production cuts as a result of unrest in the Niger Delta, as well as policy actions or inactions that put pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange metrics. Little wonder that Nigeria’s EDB rating actually slipped in 2016 from 2015, after marginally improving in 2014 (World Bank, 2018).