Free Trade Zone: Senate urges NEPZA to pursue act amendment
Thompson Nsisongabasi
Jun 17, 2021
The Senate Committee on Trade, Industry and Investment has urged the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) to lobby for more regulatory powers through an Act amendment.
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This was disclosed by Sen. Francis Fadahunsi, Chairman of the committee in a visit to some Free Trade Zones (FTZs) in Lagos on Wednesday.
The free zones visited by the committee were Quits Aviation, NAHCO, ASL, Pan African, LADOL and Snake Island Integrated FZ. Also, by the end of the week, the committee hopes to have visited Lekki FZ, Lagos FZ, Dangote FZ, and Eko Atlantic FZ.
Senator Fadahunsi declared that a NEPZA act amendment would tie all loose ends in its mandate of regulating the country's free trade zone scheme, citing that crisis between NEPZA and Onne Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Authority (OGEFZA), which he calls for an end to as both agencies have clearly assigned regulatory functions.
What the Senator said:
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"Going by NEPZA Act 63 of 1992, the Authority is bestowed with the sole mandate of regulating Nigeria's Free Trade Zone Scheme. NEPZA by this Act is a regulatory body.
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"If the agency wanted to enlarge its powers to cover the entire country, the operators should also come up with a bill seeking amendment of the Act. OGEFZA has never been a regulatory body,ÔÇØ Fadahunsi said.
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He revealed that OGEFZA was a creation of the parliament in 1994 with a clear mandate to operate as a zone in the downstream sector in Onne and Okpokri in Rivers State, adding that the Senate Committee's interest is with both agencies performing their duties to grow employment and revenue.
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He urged that the FTZs should frequently adopt backup integration where local partnerships were encouraged for speedy transfer of technology and economic growth.
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Meanwhile, Alhaji Adamu Fanda, NEPZA's Board Chairman, said the Authority would perform better if placed under the supervision of the presidency.
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"The United Arab Emirate adopted this scheme in 1987 while Nigeria embraced it in 1992, leaving UAE to just be ahead of us with just five years.
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"UAE has used FTZ to attain inconceivable development strides but our case is different'', Fanda said.
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"The country's FTZ can only be successful like those of China and UAE if built on cost-benefit analysis. It will be more profitable with the private sector taking full charge while NEPZA supervises.ÔÇØ he urged
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What you should know
The Nigerian Government recently announced it has approved four international airports in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt as Special Economic Zones
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) announced it is working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to establish Medical Special Economic Zones in Nigeria, and urged the FEC to adopt the policy framework.
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— Thompson Nsisongabasi