Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has accused some government agencies of frustrating the ease of doing business in the country.

Osinbajo spoke at the media launch of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinics at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

Osinbajo said the agencies continue to hinder the development of businesses in Nigeria.

He said the agencies view themselves as revenue generators, rather than facilitators of business.

Osinbajo said he got lots of complaints on how difficult it is to get government’s approval on almost everything when he toured the country as head of the Economic Management Team.

He said, “Just yesterday (Monday) at the quarterly business forum with the organised private sector, one of the participants again complained very loudly about the near impossibility of getting approvals for manufacturing something.

“The complaint was so loud that everybody in the room agreed with this lady.

“This was for me a very disturbing finding and very disturbing development because it meant that our agencies were yet to buy into our major plan of economic recovery which is to make it easier to do business in Nigeria.

“It is also an indication that we needed to do something to change the orientation of our various agencies.

“Instead of being merely revenue-generating, the various agencies must see themselves as facilitators of business first.

“An agency of government that is meant to grant approval must see itself first and foremost as its primary objective, if not we have lost focus completely. Then we are no longer active participants in the economic plans and goals of the nation but we have set ourselves up as something else, we have become obstacles.”

He said the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has teamed up with his office to set up MSMEs clinics.

He said the idea was to bring together key Federal Government agencies with whom the MSMEs interact in one place at a time to enable small businesses consult with them directly and obtain solutions on the spot.

Azeez