The platform is designed to give investors and other stakeholders early insight into proposed laws that could affect operating costs, investment decisions and Nigeria’s business environment……
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has introduced a digital platform to help businesses monitor proposed legislation before the National Assembly and understand how new laws could affect their operations, investment plans and cost of doing business.
The Business Bill Intelligence Portal was developed by the Ernest Shonekan Centre for Legislative Reforms and Economic Development (ESC) and unveiled at the ongoing 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.
The summit is themed “Growth that Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity”.
The portal is intended to improve access to legislative information by enabling businesses, investors and other stakeholders to identify relevant bills, follow their progress through the legislative process and participate in discussions on proposed changes.
According to the NESG, proposed legislation can significantly influence regulatory obligations, market access, investment decisions and business operating expenses. However, tracking bills and determining their potential implications can be difficult for businesses without access to timely and organised legislative information.
The new platform seeks to address this challenge by providing search and filtering tools that allow users to identify bills relevant to their interests and monitor their movement through different stages of consideration.
Its features include a dashboard displaying bills according to their legislative stages, as well as individual pages containing details of each bill, its current status, the latest recorded action and its legislative history.
The information is expected to help businesses anticipate potential regulatory changes and assess their implications before proposed legislation becomes law.
Speaking at the launch, ESC Chairman Kyari Bukar said the initiative would encourage broader participation in legislative reforms and strengthen the connection between lawmaking and Nigeria’s economic development objectives.
“Laws and proposed legislation can have significant implications for businesses, investment and economic growth,” Bukar said.
He explained that the Centre was working to promote legislation that improves the business environment, attracts investment and expands economic opportunities while safeguarding the public interest.
ESC Executive Director Uchenna Ogbonna said the portal was developed to serve a wide range of users, including businesses, citizens, civil society organisations, journalists, researchers, government agencies, legislators and National Assembly staff.
While businesses can use the platform to track proposed laws affecting their sectors, citizens can monitor bills with implications for their daily lives. Researchers and lawmakers can also access the information to support analysis, policy development and legislative work.
NESG builds on private sector legislative engagement
The launch builds on the NESG’s longstanding efforts to strengthen cooperation between the private sector and lawmakers on reforms aimed at improving Nigeria’s business environment.
In 2016, the group established the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) to create a platform for dialogue between legislators and businesses on policies and legislative changes affecting economic activity.
The initiative was subsequently extended to state legislatures through the State Assemblies Business Environment Roundtable (SABER), broadening engagement on business environment reforms beyond the federal level.
Established in 2023, the Ernest Shonekan Centre for Legislative Reforms and Economic Development focuses on research, advocacy and legislative reforms that support economic development.
The Business Bill Intelligence Portal expands the Centre’s work by providing a central digital resource through which stakeholders can follow proposed legislation and assess its potential economic implications.
By improving access to information on bills under consideration, the platform could also help businesses engage lawmakers more effectively and contribute to discussions on policies affecting their operations.
Portal launched amid economic policy discussions
The unveiling took place during the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit, which has brought together stakeholders to discuss economic growth, job creation, productivity and shared prosperity.
Discussions at the summit have also focused on the Federal Government’s economic policy direction, including efforts to lower inflation and create conditions for stronger investment and growth.
Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said the government was targeting single-digit inflation before the end of 2027, with the objective of creating room for lower interest rates and faster economic expansion.
The launch of the Business Bill Intelligence Portal adds a legislative monitoring tool to these broader discussions, giving businesses and other stakeholders a way to follow proposed laws that could shape the country’s regulatory environment.
Its effectiveness will depend on the accessibility, accuracy and timeliness of the information provided, as well as the extent to which businesses and other users adopt the platform to engage with the legislative process.
