The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has called on state governments to accelerate business-enabling reforms to unlock the full potential of the $750 million World Bank-assisted State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme.
Shettima made the appeal on Tuesday during a stakeholder meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, focused on improving the implementation of the initiative.
He said effective implementation of the SABER programme would help create a more predictable and transparent business environment across Nigeria.
According to him, this would attract both domestic and foreign investment, strengthen private-sector confidence, reduce the cost of doing business, and improve infrastructure development at the state level.
“These outcomes will translate into increased economic activity, higher productivity, job creation, improved internally generated revenue, and better living standards for our citizens,” he said.
The Vice President stressed that the success of Nigeria’s broader economic reform agenda under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu depends significantly on creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive at the subnational level.
He noted that while the Federal Government is implementing national-level reforms, states play a critical role in shaping the actual experience of investors and businesses.
Shettima also directed the Director General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Zarah Mustapha-Audu, to explore extending the SABER programme by one year to allow states more time to meet implementation targets.
He said Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy would depend heavily on fully optimising programmes like SABER that improve the investment climate.
“As a nation, we have embarked on a bold economic reform agenda… The success of this agenda depends significantly on our ability to create an enabling environment for businesses to invest, expand, and create jobs,” he said.
The Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite, also urged stakeholders to address implementation challenges to ensure the programme achieves its objectives under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
She expressed optimism that the $750 million performance-based intervention designed by the World Bank and PEBEC would be fully accessed by participating states.
The SABER programme is aimed at improving the ease of doing business across Nigeria by removing bureaucratic bottlenecks and strengthening institutional efficiency at the state level.
Officials say several states are already making progress in meeting key performance indicators required for disbursement.
The initiative is seen as a key pillar in Nigeria’s broader strategy to boost investment, improve competitiveness, and drive sustainable economic growth.
