20 YEARS AFTER ENACTMENT, CAC RG CALLS FOR AMENDMENT OF CAMA

The Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Alhaji Bello Mahmud has said that Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), after being in operation for 20 years requires substantial amendment to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement powers of the Commission.

Speaking when the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment visited the Commission as part of its legislative oversight function, Alhaji Mahmud said the amendment should also provide for on-line registration of companies.

20 YEARS AFTER ENACTMENT, CAC RG CALLS FOR AMENDMENT OF CAMA

The Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Alhaji Bello Mahmud has said that Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), after being in operation for 20 years requires substantial amendment to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement powers of the Commission.

Speaking when the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment visited the Commission as part of its legislative oversight function, Alhaji Mahmud said the amendment should also provide for on-line registration of companies.

The Registrar General said that the amendment will define the role of the CAC in the implementation of code of best practices and empower it to remove erring directors and officers of companies in line with the practice in most companies' registry globally.

In his response, the Chairman of the Committee, Elder Odion Ugbesia, noted that the enforcement drive in the Act should be amended to have an in-built enforcement mechanism, pointing that there is need to know the area one has violated the law and the penalty.  He also pledged the committee's willingness to partner with the CAC to realize its goals.

The Committee however stated that the Commission should always come to the Appropriation Committee for its budget to be seen or approved as neither the supervising Minister nor President has the power to appropriate money to any agency of government even as self appropriation is illegal.

The determination of the federal government to reform the law regulating the affairs of companies and its administration in Nigeria led to the promulgation of the CAMA No. 1 of 1990, which established the CAC.

The CAC registers companies and keeps records of organizations as well as regulates them and it is in that light that the management embraced ICT to enable customers access CAC's on-line facility from any location, from the comfort of their homes and offices, 24 hours a day, through an e - payment system. 

Other targets of the Commission include timely filing of annual returns and other statutory filings by all registered companies, business names and incorporated trustees, as well as making state offices more functional and at par with the Head Office in all aspect of registration services.

CAC, STILL ON TOP OF SERVICE DELIVERY IN  NIGERIA

Rejig Corporate Affairs Commission, so bold an headline on the opinion column of the Guardian of 12^th September.    I get disturbed by the attitude of some Nigerians, always over reacting.    It is like some of us will not see any thing good about others.    Pull the other person down spirit will not take Nigeria anywhere.

The writer started with a recall of his previous write-ups on CAC in 2003 when he said unprinted things about the CAC.    In 2003, he said, he called for internal cleansing of CAC.

The CAC which was established as a baby of the Nigerian law reform Commission in 1990 following very ineffective nature of the Companies registry then located in Kakawa, Lagos recorded modest successes in 2003.   Company registration became prompt.   The Efficiency of the CAC recorded over 80 percent.  This is why the write up by one Frances Ogunbowale and the manner he wrote disturbed me.   This is a Country where nobody sees anything good in the other person or organization.

This opinion ranger Francis also opined that a state of emergency should be declared at CAC.   But to say the least, for what?    As a follower of activities of the CAC from Area 11 to Zone 5 and now Maitama there was no need for such call.    Working into the CAC Corporate headquarter will make you think you are in Europe.

Agreed that the services of the Commission went down for few weeks    recently, the Commission's Management did not claim right.    It did not claim perfection.   The Management notified the customers that its services were down and that it was as a result of data cleaning to make the computer driven services faster.

Please, let us be fair to every body and call a spade a spade.     Even as it was, CAC services were better than over 70 percent of services offered by over 90 percent public sector organizations in this country.   Infact CAC in my opinion competes effectively with private sector organizations.    If people like Francis Ogunbowale writes the way they do, what will they say about services of the GSM Operators where you pay every day for communications that are distorted.   I doubt if Ogunbowale is the Attorney he claimed he is and he said, in Europe, America and other developed Countries registration of business is the least that anyone can do.    Is he implying that registration of companies should be thrown open all sorts of people?    Then the Lawyers, Chartered Accountants and Secretaries will forfeit the monopoly enjoyed now.  The Registrar-General came in not long ago and he appears to me as somebody who is truthful, devoid of the usual behavour of politicians who say things they cannot do.    This one said he is working and will produce enduring and sustainable service delivery.   Please as the Yorubas would say "suru".

Honestly speaking, as a customer of the Commission and in the light of the experience drawn from the number of years put in, Francis Ogunbowale's write up appears to me as a campaign of calumni.

Ibitari Manson

Flat 86,

New Layout

Efab Estate

Abuja

The corporate affairs commission is collaborating with other regulatory and professional bodies to ensure that qualified professionals serve on the board of companies engaged in some professional services.

The Registrar General of CAC Alhaji Bello Mahmud stated this at a seminar on Corporate Governance and Regulatory Compliance held at centre for management development Lagos.

Bello Mahmud said companies engaged in engineering services, Architecture, Pharmacy, medical services, educational services amongst others must have qualified professionals on their board.

Mahmud said the measure was necessary to check activities of quacks for the growth of the Nigerian economy.

The RG who explained that various codes of corporate Governance for different sectors in Nigeria have made provision for what should be considered as an ideal board further said that section 4.1of the revised code of corporate governance for public companies by securities and exchange commission provided that board be composed in such a way to ensure diversity of experience without compromising independence, compatibility, integrity and availability of members to attend meetings.

Bello Mahmud spoke extensively on CBN, SEC and NAICOM codes seek to regulate conduct of board members to prepare them in formulating robust policies for companies argued that section 279 of CAMA is the most potent tool in achieving the objective.

While speaking on structure and composition of board the RG said CAMA did not set limit on maximum number of directors per company neither did it make distinction between executive and non-executive or the so-called independent directors?

He further explained that section 246 of CAMA only provides that every company must have a minimum of 2 directors and where the number of directors falls below 2, the company shall within one month appoint new directors unless such new directors are appointed the company cannot carry on business.