In his quest to reposition the economy of Sokoto state, Governor Aminu Tambuwal has set up an Ease-of-Doing-Business Council, EODBC, in the state.
The governor made the announcement while commissioning a One-Stop-Shop on ease of doing business, EODB, in Sokoto on Thursday.
According to him, the EODBC, which will be chaired by him, is in adoption of the recommendations of the National Economic Council, NEC, and would meet monthly and brief the State Economic Council, SEC, quarterly.
Tambuwal also directed the state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Bashir Jegawa, to serve as the State Reform Champion on EODB and “will be liaising with the national office on behalf of the state, as well as coordinate ease of doing business activities in the state.”
The EODBC has a secretariat at the commissioned One-Stop-Shop where “both federal and state agencies involved in regulatory certification, registration and revenue generation will be under one roof.
“The intent of creating this center is, to help businessmen and women to navigate these agencies, to seek for information, advisory services, registration/renewal of permits, certification and payment of taxes with ease,” the governor said.
He further noted that the commissioning of the shop was a way of complementing federal government’s ease of doing business initiative, stressing that already, the state government has since created the Sokoto Geographical Information Service, SOGIS, repositioned the state Urban and Regional Planning Board, embarked on the building of a database on business premises and transformed the state’s internal revenue services to fast track business formations and transactions.
Present at the occasion is the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on EODB, Dr Jumoke Oduwole.