NESG Launches Bill Intelligence Portal for Businesses

In Short

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has launched a digital portal to help businesses track proposed legislation before Nigeria’s National Assembly. NESG says the platform is meant to help users assess how bills could affect investment, operations, and the cost of doing business.

What Happened: How The NESG Portal Tracks Proposed Bills

NESG launched the Business Bill Intelligence Portal, developed by the Ernest Shonekan Centre for Legislative Reforms and Economic Development (ESC). It was unveiled at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, themed “Growth that Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity”.

NESG said proposed laws can influence regulatory requirements, market access, investment decisions, and operating costs. It also said many businesses struggle to identify bills that matter to them and to follow those bills through the legislative process.

The portal is designed to make legislative information more accessible. NESG said it provides search and filtering tools to help users identify bills of interest and track them through different stages of consideration.

Features listed by NESG include a dashboard that shows bills by legislative stage. It also includes individual bill pages with current status, latest recorded action, and legislative history.

Kyari Bukar, chairman of the ESC, said the initiative would strengthen participation in legislative reforms and help align lawmaking with Nigeria’s economic development priorities. “Laws and proposed legislation can have significant implications for businesses, investment and economic growth,” he said.

ESC Executive Director Uchenna Ogbonna said the portal was designed for a broad range of users. He listed businesses, citizens, civil society organisations, journalists, researchers, government agencies, legislators, and National Assembly staff.

Why It Matters: Private Sector Input Into Nigerian Lawmaking

NESG said the portal builds on its work to strengthen engagement between the private sector and lawmakers. It cited the creation of the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) in 2016 and later the State Assemblies Business Environment Roundtable (SABER).

NESG said the ESC was established in 2023 and focuses on research, advocacy, and legislative reforms that support economic development. The portal adds a central place for stakeholders to monitor proposed legislation and engage with changes that could affect the business environment.