The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development, (Centre LSD), has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing into law the amended Companies and Other Allied Matters (CAMA II) bill, 30 years after the original act was enacted.
A statement signed by Mr. Uchenna Arisukwu, Programme Coordinator of the Centre, stated that among the highlights of the new law is the establishment of a public register of beneficial owners of companies in Nigeria. It will be recalled that Nigeria signed into the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2016 with firm commitments in fiscal transparency, assets recovery and management as well as beneficial ownership regime in Nigeria. Beneficial Ownership was among the key commitments in Nigeria’s first and second national action plans of the OGP implementation in the country.
The statement also commended the 9th National Assembly for prioritizing and expediting action towards the bill following the refusal of assent by the President on the earlier bill passed by the 8th National Assembly.
Mr. Arisukwu further stated that Centre LSD as part of its advocacy for the implementation of the OGP in Nigeria joined forces with other stakeholders to advocate for the signing of the bill into law after the passage by the parliament and is therefore elated on the signing.
The release urged for more concerted and coordinated efforts by state and non-state actors as the process for the development and hosting of the public register on beneficial owners of companies in Nigeria begins.