Abbas Pledges Repeal Of Obsolete Laws To Boost Investment

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Abbas Tajudeen, has pledged that the National Assembly would repeal obsolete laws hindering businesses and introduce reforms aimed at improving Nigeria’s competitiveness, attracting investment and accelerating economic transformation.

Speaking at the Legislative Business Breakfast Meeting held as part of the 2026 National Assembly Open Week, Dr Tajudeen outlined five commitments by the House to support private sector growth and create a more predictable business environment.

The commitments include ensuring regulatory certainty, reducing the cost of doing business, expanding access to finance, repealing outdated laws that impede enterprise and strengthening legislative oversight to ensure effective implementation of economic reforms.

He said the House would work to harmonise taxes and levies across the three tiers of government, strengthen institutions providing credit to the real sector, particularly small and medium enterprises, and enact laws to support manufacturing, agriculture and Nigeria’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Abbas said the commitments were informed by concerns raised by business leaders over high borrowing costs, shrinking access to credit, foreign exchange volatility, unstable electricity supply, multiple taxation, port inefficiencies, insecurity and policy uncertainty.

He acknowledged that recent economic reforms had imposed hardship on Nigerians but argued that measures such as fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification and fiscal reforms were necessary to restore macroeconomic stability.

Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce, Ahmed Munir, said the 10th National Assembly was aligning its legislative agenda with the needs of businesses by pursuing reforms to improve regulatory certainty, streamline commercial laws and reduce multiple taxation.

He disclosed that several investment-related bills were at different stages of consideration, including the AfCFTA Bill, Climate Resilience Commerce Bill, Sale of Goods Act Amendment Bill, Digital Economy Mainstreaming Bill, Sustainable Finance Bill, Bankruptcy Act Amendment Bill and amendments to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council Act.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said legislative backing remained critical to the success of the Federal Government’s economic reforms and the target of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

She noted that the Nigerian Economic Summit Group’s June 2026 Business Confidence Monitor recorded expansion in business activity for the sixth consecutive month, with the Business Performance Index rising to 104.6 points.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji