The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has urged state governments, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the organised private sector, and other stakeholders to step up efforts towards advancing the business environment in Nigeria. He acknowledged successes achieved this year, describing them “as the triumph of collaboration over silos,” stressing that when the 36 states, MDAs, development partners and critical sectors work together, it becomes a major win for the country.
Senator Shettima made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during the PEBEC Gala and Awards Night organised by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to celebrate exceptional public service delivery, reform excellence, and collaborative efforts that shape the nation’s business ecosystem.
He reminded stakeholders that the drive for improvement must continue. According to him, “The end of this night does not signal the end of your pursuit of excellence because excellence is a culture, not an event. It lives only where it is nurtured. And so, in the new year, let us do even more to advance the reform agenda for Nigeria’s business environment. Let us build a nation where efficiency is normal, where transparency is routine, and where excellence is the governing creed of public service.”
The Vice President highlighted that organisations reflect the people who work within them but warned that people cannot “achieve excellence in a vacuum.” Shettima said excellence must be cultivated, noting that it is “the result of choices, of discipline, of a refusal to settle for the bare minimum,” adding that it cannot simply be inherited.
He said the Gala night was organised “to honour the belief that public service can and must be synonymous with excellence.” He also stressed that leaders and stakeholders must take responsibility. “His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has laid the critical foundation for the reforms required to reset our economy, and the success of this depends on the awardees we celebrate tonight,” he said.
Shettima commended the award recipients, stating, “Your dedication and excellence embody the spirit of this administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda. You represent the very best of our public sector, and your work is the foundation upon which our nation’s prosperity is built.”
He described the event as “a celebration of public servants across Nigeria who have refused to accept mediocrity as our national ceiling,” noting that they continue to drive reforms of the Tinubu administration. Shettima added that “The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC, has spent the last couple of years championing reforms that speak to the soul of our economic aspirations—reforms that make it easier to do business, that restore investor confidence, that ensure our institutions work at the speed of national ambition. And tonight, we salute the men and women driving this mission forward, those who have placed the national interest above their comfort zones.”
The Vice President further explained that reforms have benefited from interagency collaboration. He cited the establishment of the Ports and Customs Efficiency Committee (PCEC), which is “already bearing significant fruit through joint inspection procedures at” the ports.
Earlier, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, noted that under Shettima’s leadership, PEBEC has continued to deliver reforms impacting businesses across various sectors. He cautioned, however, that the mission was not over. According to him, the improvements recognised at the 2025 awards “will be the foundation upon which more lasting reform initiatives will be built.”
Also speaking, the Director-General of PEBEC, Princess Zahrah Audu, outlined achievements recorded through deliberate collaboration aimed at transforming operations across MDAs. She noted that reform remains “embedded and remains a critical component of PEBEC’s service delivery.” Audu added that the scale of results seen in recent months reflects partnership development with key stakeholders across the country.
A major highlight of the event was the unveiling of the 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Compliance Report and the Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report. Awards were presented in categories including access to justice, legislative trailblazer, leadership of action, business advocacy and partnership, among others.
Those in attendance included the Deputy Governor of Benue State, Dr Sam Ode; Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mr Ifeanyi Ossai; Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa; Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Pius Akutah; Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida; Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho; alongside heads of agencies, members of the diplomatic corps, and captains of industry.
