FG Plans To Honour Top 100 Business Organizations

The Federal Government has concluded plans to honour 100 top business endeavours in Nigeria in December.

The initiative, a brainchild of President Goodluck Jonathan, is aimed at identifying and bestowing on highly performing business concerns presidential honour that will further encourage and ginger them to contribute to the economy in more significant ways.

To actualise this, Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, has set up a Business Assessment Committee, headed by the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Jim Obazee.

A statement by the Consultant to the initiative, Mrs. Funmi Ogbue, said, “The aim of the presidential honour for the top 100 Businesses in Nigeria is to identity, recognise and celebrate businesses that are contributing to the economy and are ethically above board in their business dealings in line with global best practices.

“Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa and one of the emerging economies on the world stage needs to encourage ethical corporate governance and celebrate businesses that are growing the economy.”

Others are, the Director-General, Industrial Training Fund, Mrs Juliet Onaeko; Managing Director, Bank of Industries, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa; Executive Secretary, Sugar Council, Dr Lateef Busari; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema; Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Kabir Mashi; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr Olusegun Awolowo; Managing Director, Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, Mr Gbenga Kuye; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Mrs Salatu Umar; CEO, Jake Riley Limited, Mrs Funmi Ogbue; a Director from MITI, Bambo Kunle-Salami and representatives of the minister.

Inaugurating the committee on Friday, in Abuja, Aganga said the body had a mandate to critically scrutinise businesses operating within the Nigerian economic space and come up with top 100 among them that meet global best practices.

Such business that will qualify for the presidential award, the minister added, would be among the companies generating high volume of employment opportunities in the economy.