Francis Sardauna in Katsina 

The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Katsina State Government have engaged business leaders and stakeholders to access and accelerate business enabling reforms in the state.

They were engaged at the State Action on Business-enabling Reforms (SABER) Technical Session and Statewide town hall meeting organised by PEBEC in collaboration with the state government which was held in Katsina.

The meeting, which brought together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, was aimed at assessing the state’s performance on business, enabling reforms and strengthening alignment with national economic initiatives.

Addressing the participants, Governor Dikko Umaru Radda reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to tackling bottlenecks and fostering a conducive environment for businesses to thrive in the state.

He noted that the state had made significant progress in implementing actionable and revolving business reforms, which had helped to attract investors and promote economic growth and sustainability.

Radda, represented by his Deputy, Hon. Faruk Lawal, emphasised that the ease of doing business had become a top priority of the state government and will remain steadfast in achieving the desired goals.

He added that the state government has restructured its business framework and created the Katsina Enterprises Development Agency (KASEDA) to support nano, small and medium businesses with resources and tools to grow.

He said: “My administration is creating an enabling environment for business, especially small and medium enterprises, to operate and succeed, and we know the role of the government in creating such an enabling environment for businesses. 

“As a government, therefore, we first began our journey by strengthening leadership around the Ease of Doing Business agenda. We appointed the Deputy Governor to chair both the Ease of Doing Business and the MSMEs.”

In her remarks, the Director-General of PEBEC, Zahrah Audu, explained that the ongoing nationwide sub-national tour is aimed at strengthening state-level ownership of the reform initiatives.

She explained that the PEBEC works closely with state governments to improve the business environment and deepen the implementation of SABER for the sustainability of ease of doing business in the country.

Audu, in a televised address to the participants, added that PEBEC was a World Bank-funded project aimed at promoting economic growth and development in Nigeria.

Earlier, the Director-General of the Katsina State Investment Promotion Agency (KIPA), Ibrahim Tukur-Jikamshi, said the town hall meeting was a step towards deepening ease of doing business and economic reforms.

He said Governor Radda has embraced the SABER reforms framework not just as a compliance requirement, but as a strategic instrument for state transformation and economic inclusion.

He stated that the Radda-led government has waived all Right of Way (RoW) charges for fabric optic development and granted “interest-free loans” to MSMES to simplify business support schemes in the state.

“We have exempted qualifying businesses from selected fees and levies to reduce start-up costs. We continue to prioritize transparency and public feedback, with all MDAs now publishing all timelines and costs,” he added.

He stressed that the government has taken proactive steps in mainstreaming reforms into the fabrics of the state by establishing a high-powered reforms implementation committee to deliver results across all reform sectors.

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