A mishmash of emperors’ regulations and lack of synergy between Nigeria’s law and justice is not only having a negative effect on foreign investors but it’s also not doing the country’s business environment any favour, according to stakeholders.
Some of the biggest trials facing most businesses in Nigeria are either heavy-handed approach by regulatory authorities or a justice system, fraught with a lot of challenges and many businesses may easily be discouraged and or reluctant to take their matters to court for adjudication due to the time consuming of court proceedings.
In many instances by the time the matter is determined by the court, the litigants may have completely lost interest or irrecoverable business or economic value and in no way would have benefitted from resorting to the courts.
Panellists at Businessday’s 2020 law and development summit on Friday admitted that proper regulation and synergy between justice and law is essential to promote the business environment is not debatable. However, when regulatory authorities go beyond their remit, has recently been the case in Nigeria, the consequences are often detrimental even to the consumers they seek to protect.
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“Nigeria’s desperate needs a business environment where law and justice are aligned for investment to thrive,” Muda Yusuf, Director General at Lagos Chambers of Commerce Industry (LCCI said at the virtual event with the theme “How the law can be a tool for revenue generation.”
He noted that Nigeria’s investment environment is regulated by regulators who are only thinking short terms not long terms which is harmful and too risky for major foreign direct investors.
“Nigeria businesses should not have emperors’ regulators that people are always scared of,” Yusuf said at the annual event. “When people have cases against government or regulators they are always helpless, which shouldn’t be the case.”
Yusuf further recommended that Nigeria’s judiciary should easily have frameworks that can easily adjudicate cases between the regulator and business owners.
