Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday gave a directive for speedy conclusion of projects critical to easing ways of doing business in the country.

 He spoke after paying a surprise visit to Nigeria’s major international airport in Lagos.

Already, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, (PEBEC) has adopted a 60-day Action Plan to push Ease of Doing Business reforms.

A statement by Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, quoted the acting President as saying: “As part of our work on the Ease of Doing Business, on making the environment friendly, not just for local businesses but also for those who want to come and do business in Nigeria, the airport obviously is one of the major places where we need to ensure that facilities are working and that things are being run properly.

“So we have looked around, we’ve seen some of the equipments. There are many many things that need to be done, many things that need to be corrected, and we have to work on them as quickly as possible.”

During the unscheduled visit, the acting President checked out the toilets, noticed some of the non-functioning carousels in the arrival hall, went to Immigration officials to check the progress of plans to grant visa on arrival to foreign investors, observed the non-functioning air-conditioners and chillers in the Departure and Arrival halls, the escalators and elevators that are in a state of disrepair among others.

 He was accompanied by Minister of State (Aviation) Hadi Sirika.

At Tuesday’s meeting of PEBEC, Prof. Osinbajo had said: “we are trying to improve the business environment in three broad respects; the entry and exit of goods, the entry and exit of persons into Nigeria, and then general government transparency and efficiency in government agencies & parastatals.”