The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has retained its position as the best Federal Agency in transparency and efficiency in business, continuing the streak of excellence in the delivery of its mandate.

In the 2023 Half Year Executive Order 001 Compliance Ranking, which covered from January to June 2023, NCDMB scored 83.06% to clinch the top position in the Federal Government’s ranking of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the second straight year it was clinching the award. The report was released on Monday, and it builds on the Board’s sterling performance in 2022 during which period it had equally emerged the top performer in the whole year.

The Executive Order 001 (EO1) Compliance Report is compiled by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) is determined by a combination of the weighted scores for efficiency and transparency directives.

Issued on 18 May, 2017 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, the EO1 on the Promotion of Transparency and Efficiency in the business environment seeks to facilitate entrenchment of policies and practices that would foster an environment conducive to business, particularly start-ups, by eliminating bottlenecks.   

PEBEC explained that an “MDA’s EOI overall performance is a combination of scores on the Efficiency and Transparency measures weighted at 70 per cent and 30 per cent of the overall score respectively.” It added that “the top performing MDAs differentiate themselves by achieving a balanced performance on both the Efficiency and Transparency scales….”

Under Efficiency, the agency’s adherence to its service delivery timelines is key. For Transparency, the chief consideration is existence and functionality of websites, as well as availability of detailed information on timelines, costs, statutory requirements and customer service contact channels. In combination, these would eliminate abuses in the system, including rent-seeking activities.

This latest award follows NCDMB’s emergence as “a Level 5 Platinum Level organization” in a summary report of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) Self-assessment Tool (SAT) released in January 2023, a rating which translates as “Exceptional Performance with a performance level of 90.5%.”

This accomplishment underscores NCDMB’s unwavering dedication to creating an environment conducive to local and international businesses as well as putting in place initiatives aimed at streamlining processes, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks, and ensuring that businesses in Nigeria can operate freely.