Remarks At The Breakfast Roundtable On Rethinking Business Conduct & Practices

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KEYNOTE REMARKS PRESENTED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE BREAKFAST ROUNDTABLE ON RETHINKING BUSINESS CONDUCT AND PRACTICES ON TUESDAY JULY 24, 2018.

First I would like to commend the organisers of this event for putting this together. It is timely and a right step in the fight against corruption.

As we continue in our struggle to eliminate corruption in the public sector and to punish offenders, it is important to also pay attention to the prevention of corruption. Self-regulatory measures by the private sector is as important as government measures to plug all the loopholes that encourage engagement in corrupt practices.

As many of you are aware, I have been on different international roadshows in recent times to market our country’s potential to investors. Key amongst the points of discussion is the ecosystem and integrity of the environment in which we do business. While government is determined to create systems that ensure that anybody who comes in contact with a government Agency, Ministry or Department will benefit from a corrupt free system, we also encourage those who come to interact with government agencies not to initiate, implement, perpetuate or sustain corruption. When you create an enabling corruption-free environment for people to transact business with government, the economy and everyone is the winner at the end of the day.

It may appear that with regard to the economy and investment environment our sole aim is to eliminate delay. True a key objective is to remove delay because the delay is not always driven by incompetence or lack of infrastructure, but often by compromise or corruption. Our objective is therefore much more than eliminating delay it extends to sanitizing and sanctifying the business and investment environment.

We are not ignorant of the fact that combining the fight against corruption, and building a strong economy is not an easy task. Last year we issued Executive Order 001, which was, as a matter of fact, the first executive order of this administration. The major objective of the Executive order was to promote transparency and efficiency in the Business Environment. This Executive order X-rays government’s willingness, commitment and resolve to transform the way the Federal Government and its Ministries, Departments and Agencies relate with the business community and the public at large.

A combination of the six major areas of Transparency in MDAs, Default Approvals, One Government Directive, Entry Experience of Visitors and Travellers, Port Operations and Registration of Businesses, addressed by the executive order underscores government’s determination in creating an enabling environment for businesses and entrenching strategies aimed at promoting domestic and foreign investments, creation of employment, stimulating the national economy, promoting transparency, efficiency and importantly creating an enabling environment for businesses in Nigeria.

So far this executive order has recorded success stories and rave reviews both from inside and outside of the country. The successes achieved cannot be achieved without the support and feedback from the private sector. If it works well the private sector will be happy. And the exciting part of the program today is that it is private sector driven. What this means is that the private sector is thinking of innovative ways to meet the government halfway in the process of ensuring transparency in the business environment.

It shows that the private sector joins the government in recognising that we are dealing with complicated and systemic problems, which has almost become a habit in the public sector owing to long years of practice and complacency. Dealing with this will not only need patience, time and strong will. It also requires strong innovations and processes to compel people to do the right thing.

The Fiduciary bond concept as discussed today will not only be a good anti-corruption prevention mechanism it will also align with the idea behind the Executive Order 001 to create a transparent business environment between government agencies and the private sector.

This system is proposing the development of government policy to include a fiduciary or integrity bond at the point of contract between any federal government ministry agency and department and a contractor. In order words, the bond shall be listed as a pre–requisite requirement before a formal contract award is issued. Non – compliance will attract a penalty to be agreed by stakeholders, not one imposed by Government, and the penalty may be a percentage of the total contract value.

This bond from my understanding will have specific conditions set out, through which the bond can be called up. It serves as a guarantee against bribery, inducement, fraud and all other sharp practices that occur during the contracts interactions between the government and the private sector. The rationale behind this concept is to stop and discourage attempts of collusion from both sides of a contract from engaging in corrupt practices. This also means that the party contracting with the government shares the cost of engaging in corrupt practices. The federal government will be the beneficiary of forfeited bonds once evidence of corruption has been proven.

This is not the first time I will be associated with a privates sector led or driven integrity initiative for business. About 20 years ago, I co-founded Integrity a not for profit essentially focused on advocating private sector-led corruption-free business environment. One of the first major projects of the organisation was to promote the adoption of a convention on business integrity by the private sector as a pledge to avoid corruption in their transactions. A number of leading businesses signed onto the convention and I am aware that many have kept faith with business integrity.

It is, therefore, encouraging that if adopted by stakeholders, the integrity bond concept will further help sanitize our business environment. With further and more in-depth interrogation of the integrity bond concept, I have no doubt that it will improve transparency in government procurement process and can become a worthy tool in the fight against corruption and at the same time create a trusted business environment. Furthermore, it will enhance the relationship between the government and the private sector. It is important for me to note that we are all in agreement that building an enabling business environment devoid of corruption is essential not just for national transformation but for the growth of the economy.

I want to thank the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Bureau for Public Procurement and Nehemiah Resources and all other key stakeholders such as The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Price Water House Coopers, Convention on Business Integrity and all other stakeholders involved in this idea for putting this concept and this dialogue together. The fight to eradicate corruption in Nigeria is not a fight for the government alone. All hands must be on deck, irrespective of the side of the divide you are. We can and we will win together.

Thank you very much.