By Ahmad Umar:
The Executive Secretary, Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Daniel Asapokhai says the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance would promote ease of doing business and attract local and foreign investments into the country.
It also enhances the integrity of the Nigerian capital market, by entrenching a culture of disclosure, transparency and accountability.
The Executive Secretary stated this while speaking at a one day public hearing/sensitisation on Nigeria Code of Corporate Governance organized by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) for the North east zone of the country held in Gombe.
He said that the Code has adopted the ‘Apply and explain’ principle, which requires companies to apply the requirements of the Code and to explain how they did so.
In his words: “The decision to adopt the ‘Apply and Explain’ approach was made after careful considerations of several factors including the Nigerian legal system, Nigerian culture and history, government policies, state of the Nigerian economy, global economic and political climate, and levels of capital inflow of investment coming into the country.”
“This has spurred various governments to carry out a review of their countries’ governance practices and adopt new legislation to regulate corporate conduct and behaviours.”
Asapokhai said the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance 2018 was developed based on comprehensive review of the suspended 2016 Corporate Governance Code, by a 15-man technical committee with the attendant consultative engagements with a wide range of stakeholders and regulators.
Also speaking, a financial expert, Bala Mohammadu Abubakar, said that lack of corporate governance and fiscal responsibility in both private and public sectors of Nigeria economy are the major factors militating against business activities in Nigeria.
Conflict and poor relationship between Boards and company executives in most cases, he added are bottlenecks towards smooth performance of most establishments.
Abubakar expressed regrets that lack of effective tool guiding corporate governance in private and public businesses and institutions over the years has given rise to a situation where certain individuals in leadership positions have become powerful and even richer than the institutions they are heading.
The financial expert said it will be difficult for any country to attract domestic and private investment without a regulatory document such as the code, hençe the need for organizations in Nigeria to adopt the new code as most companies around the world suffer as a result of weak corporate governance regulations.
“The need for this code is long overdue, however it is better late than never, and there is the need for every Nigerian to embrace the code because we cannot develop our private and public enterprises, without complying with a standard code.”
Dr. Abubakar who noted that, Nigeria is good in designing excellent policies but without implementation, explained that for the the document to be effective and embrace by Nigerians, FRC most design effective mechanism towards compliance.
“I wish to draw the attention of FRC to go all out in mobilising, sensitising and educating relevant stakeholders to find the process, for the acceptance and adoption of the new code easier”.
“It is very important for FRCN, to go beyond the regional hearing by visiting states for town hall meetings to better equip the private and public sectors on how to implement the content and provision of the code.
He also suggested that the document be translated into the 3 major Nigeria languages of Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo for better assimilation.
https://www.africaprimenews.com/2018/05/31/news/corporate-governance-ajogwu-calls-for-healthy-business-environment-in-nigeria/
