The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, United Kingdom (ICAN-UK) honored Dr. Edward Akinlade, the Group Managing Director of Halden McCall, as a Distinguished Speaker at its 11th International Conference in the UK.
The conference, themed “Crossborder Integration for Economic Resilience,” took place recently in London. During his speech, Akinlade discussed his company’s project in Port Novo under the sub-theme “Implications for Housing and Infrastructure in ECOWAS,” focusing on challenges like language and legal barriers.
He mentioned that in Port Novo, they faced language barriers, which were partly resolved because Yoruba is a common language. Legal barriers were not explicitly encountered for their Nigerian company developing in Benin Republic. They dealt with building control issues by hiring local experts who handled everything including planning permits.
Although banks and FX dealers were operational, they experienced delays in an initial transfer due to a banking error. A notable point was that in Benin, the government regulates rent unlike in Lagos where landlords can set rents freely