Senate amends Companies and Allied Matters Act

The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to amend the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

The bill, among other provisions, requires the Corporate Affairs Commission to subject the appointment of its chairman to the Senate for confirmation, while also providing for the appointment of the secretary to the commission.

Apart from this, the amendment requires the commission to submit its annual estimates and reports to the National Assembly.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Trade, Senator Odion Ugbesia, while presenting the highlights of the report of his committee for consideration by the upper legislative chamber, explained that the major objective of the bill was to strengthen the CAC, which he described as a gateway to the nation’s economy.

He said the bill stipulated that the appointment of the commission’s board chairman and its members should reflect the federal character principle as provided in the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Ugbesia said the bill recommended that the chairman of the commission would be appointed by the President on the recommendations of the minister of the CAC supervising ministry.

He added that the chairman of the commission “shall be a person who by reason of his ability, experience or specialised knowledge of corporate, industrial, commercial, financial or economic matters of business or professional attainments, will in his opinion be capable of making outstanding contributions to the work of the commission.”

The board, Ugbesia added, would have representatives each from the business community appointed by the minister on the recommendations of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.

He also stated that the legal and accountancy professions, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission and the ministries of Commerce, Justice, Industry and the Registrar-General of the Federation would be represented on the CAC board.

The Senate President, David Mark, who presided over the session, commended the committee for coming up with amendments that would further strengthen the law guiding the operations of companies in the country.