Lagos, June 18, 2025 – In a bid to drive operational efficiency across trade-related government functions, the Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation (OTCI) has hosted a high-level Business Process Roundtable with trade officers from across Lagos State. The forum, held earlier this week at the state secretariat, brought together key officers for a robust dialogue on enhancing internal competencies and closing performance gaps in trade administration.
The session was structured to examine existing workflows, especially those surrounding licensing, inspection, compliance, and record-keeping functions typically handled by trade officers at both local and zonal levels. Through facilitated discussions and case study reviews, participants identified critical bottlenecks and recommended specific process improvements aimed at improving service delivery and public satisfaction.
Speaking during the event, OTCI officials stressed the importance of embedding purpose-driven competency frameworks into trade departments as a means of fostering institutional excellence. The roundtable also served as a platform to align state operational practices with the broader agenda of the Lagos State Government on transparency, economic vibrancy, and innovation-led public service.
Attendees included representatives from various MDAs whose roles intersect with trade-related functions, enabling a cross-sectoral exchange of ideas and a shared commitment to reform. A key outcome of the forum was the development of an action plan that includes staff retraining, periodic audits, and digitisation of key procedures to improve response time and reduce administrative burden.
Participants applauded the initiative as timely and impactful, especially in the context of growing investor interest in Lagos and the state’s ambitions to remain Nigeria’s economic engine. The roundtable, according to organisers, will not be a one-off engagement but part of a continuous improvement process with periodic check-ins to evaluate implementation progress.
With this initiative, OTCI reinforces its mandate to drive public sector transformation through innovation, capacity-building, and systems review, anchored on the belief that institutional change begins with people and process.
