Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade
Agba, has said that the Companies and Allied Matters Amendment Act
(CAMA) 2020 would ensure transparency of the ownership and control of
all companies involved in property purchase and public contracting in
Nigeria.
In a statement on Thursday (August 13, 2020) on his twitter handle
@ClemAgba on the signing of the CAMA Amendment Act 2020 by President
Muhammadu Buhari on August 7, this year, Prince Agba said the new law
expressly required companies in Nigeria to disclose beneficial owners
above a certain threshold.
Agba, who is also Co-Chair of Nigeria’s Open Government Partnership
(OGP) State Actors, stated that the new law “gives legal backing to the
implementation of Nigeria’s commitment to establishing a public register
of beneficial owners of corporate entities in its Open Government
Partnership (OGP) 2019 – 2021 National Action Plan.”
According to him, “While the signing of the law is a milestone, it is
only the beginning of a long journey to building a
technologically-viable structure of tackling corruption.”
He said that the fight against corruption would require building
institutional capacities, processes, as well as collaboration among
government, citizens, and bilateral partners to ensure that the needs of
all stakeholders were captured and met.
“On our part, we will continue to provide policy and legal framework
that will help Nigeria meet the commitments contained in our National
Action Plan,” the minister stated.
Agba further said that “Nigeria welcomes the support of the OGP Support
Unit through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for the development of an
electronic register of beneficial owners.
“I want to renew the commitment of Nigeria’s OGP Multi-Stakeholder Forum
– National Steering Committee – to ensure full implementation of the
register, using the grant of $500,000 to the Corporate Affairs
Commission (CAC) for the development of an electronic register of
beneficial owners.”
He said he looked forward to “working with the Corporate Affairs
Commission (CAC) in the building of the register.”
He reviewed the process that culminated in the new law and concluded
that the signing of the Companies and Allied Matters Amendment Act
(CAMA) into law was a journey that began in May 2016 at the London
Anti-Corruption Summit where President Buhari committed to tackling
corruption head-on.
The President, according to him, had committed to tackling corruption by
“taking steps to ensure transparency of the ownership and control of all
companies involved in property purchase and public contracting.