The Nigeria Economic Zones Association (NEZA), the umbrella body of Free Trade Zones operators and enterprises in the country, has cautioned the National Assembly and government agencies not to take actions that are inimical to attracting $25 billion Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) yearly to the country through the Special Economic Zones’ scheme.
The association’s Executive Secretary, Toyin Elegbede, gave the charge in a statement issued detesting the “needless and incessant invitation” of private zones owners and their enterprises by committees of the National Assembly for interrogation over their operations
He stated: “With all intent and purpose, this association is worried on frequent infractions committed by the National Assembly committees aimed at undermining the laws that established both the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the Oil & Gas Free Zone (OGFZA) without recourse to their limitations as enshrined in both Acts.
“While recognizing the oversight functions of our lawmakers, we kindly urge them against breaching existing laws capable of eroding gains already recorded in attracting FDIs into the country through these zones
“As much as no entity is above the law, the practice and the law are that companies operating in the special economic zones exist under special arrangement with their activities regulated by the regulator. It is not the intention of the law for lawmakers to bypass the regulator to summon companies in the zones.
“Such action will amount to a violation of the terms under which the foreign investors entered and invested several billions of US dollars in the Nigerian economy.
“The practice, according to the law and according to international best practice, is for the lawmakers to interface with the regulators to address any issue within the zones,” the Executive Secretary added.
While acknowledging the powers of the National Assembly to investigate and expose corruption, Elegbede maintained that members of the association regularly file annual audited reports with NEPZA and OGFZA and that any query on such reports were always responded to by the operators.
Making further clarification on foreign investment within the economic zones and the ones outside of the zones, the Executive Secretary stressed that investors within the zones operated under a special law that conferred certain privileges while the host country also enjoyed benefits of employment creation, wealth creation, industrialization and backward integration, among others, from the zones
He further stated that a free zone was not a place to explore for revenue generation and that the country stood the chance of enjoying socio-economic benefits in the long term if the zones were properly supported.
Describing the association’s members as law abiding entities operating within the laws and regulations of the country, Elegbede canvassed the protection of investors and their investments in the zones by not using the country’s regular laws to interfere with their operations, so that we can encourage new ones to invest in the country.
Specifically, the group appealed to the relevant National Assembly committees to engage the economic zones’ regulators if they have issues with operations within the zones in accordance with existing laws.
