SIFAX Group: Infrastructure Deficiency Could Hinder Ease of Doing Business

                       Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group

By: HighCelebritySquard

SIFAX Group, a multinational corporation with diverse interests in Maritime, Aviation, Haulage & Logistics, Oil & Gas and Hospitality, has said lack of critical infrastructure could hinder the success of the Federal Government’s drive at improving the ease of doing business in the country.

According to Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, the Ease of Doing Business initiative by the government is a welcome development due to the needless bottleneck encountered in the service delivery process, though he noted that the problem of infrastructure deficiency should be urgently addressed in order to compliment the executive orders signed recently by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

Citing the case of the Apapa access roads that have literally broken down and are source of concern for all business stakeholders, Afolabi said fixing the roads would not only aid the initiative but also bring relief and order to one of the country’s economic gateways.

He said: “The Ease of Doing Business executive orders are good and brilliant initiatives to improve the customer experience, particularly at the nation’s points of entry. I want to commend the government for it. However, I want to submit that the initiative should be an all-encompassing one, where other hindering factors, especially critical infrastructure, are attended to without delay.

“Take for instance, the Apapa ports. There is no way a customer experience can be improved when the importers and exporters find it extremely difficult to transport their goods in and out of the ports because the roads are in a sorry state. Containers fall on these roads on a daily basis with attendant losses. Workers, residents and business owners in the area are not finding things easy as well.

“My appeal to the government is to do a thorough review of other inhibiting factors to doing business in Nigeria and immediately tackle such issues with the urgency with which the Abuja airport’s faulty runway was fixed. Only then we will truly improve the customer experience in the country,”