The commitment by the Nigerian
government to establish a public beneficial ownership register received a boost
today, as key agencies of the government met in Abuja to fine-tune strategies
for implementation.
The meeting which was held under
the auspices of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) had in attendance the
representatives of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(NEITI), the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Federal Ministry of
Justice amongst others.
The Nigerian government has
committed to ending secret company ownership as part of the anti-corruption
commitments under the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in May 2016, by opening
a publicly accessible beneficial ownership register, such efforts are expected
to bring an end to situations where individuals and entities especially
politically exposed persons (PEPs) mask their identity while retaining
controlling powers over companies, corporations and assets.
Speaking at the end of the
meeting the National Coordinator of Open Government Partnership and Special
Adviser to the President on Justice Reforms, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku- Nwagwu
outlined how such efforts can complement other anti-corruption efforts of the
current administration.
According to her, “Beneficial
ownership transparency is the sixth commitment in the National Action Plan of
the Open Government Partnership, It critical to ongoing efforts to trace,
recover and repatriate stolen assets and disrupt illicit financial flows, by
the time the beneficial ownership register is made public, there will be no hiding
place for those who wish to conceal “dirty” money’.
The representative of the
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), A. G Abubakar confirmed that government has
commenced the initial procedures for the review of the Company and Allied
Matters Act 1990 as amended to ensure that beneficial ownership information
become part of the data required to be disclosed by every company. You may
recall that the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI)
had earlier in the year, unfolded a beneficial ownership transparency roadmap
in the extractive industry.
According to the Executive
Secretary of NEITI, Mr Waziri Adio who was represented by Dr. Ogbonaya Orji,
Director of Communications, “The National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of
NEITI is determined to use activities in the roadmap to push the boundaries of
implementation of transparency and accountability in the extractive industries
in Nigeria, this is in line with the ongoing reforms in the extractive
industry. We are working with all relevant stakeholders in the industry
including civil society”
On the 24th of August this year,
President Muhammadu Buhari(GCFR) signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty(MLA)
on commercial and criminal matters between Nigeria and United Arab Emirates
which includes the speedy recovery and repatriation of stolen assets which may
be stashed away by unscrupulous elements in that country.
It is expected that the
implementation of beneficial ownership transparency will lead to a reasonable
reduction of reputational risks that Nigeria is currently facing in terms of
attracting the much needed capital that will help revamp the economy.
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