Nigerian Senate
The Senate has expressed its happiness over President Muhammadu Buhari agreement to the repealed and re-enacted Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).
In a statement today in Abuja, the spokesperson of the Senate, Sen.Ajibola Basiru (APC Osun) said Buhari’s assent of the CAMA bill had completed the final stage for the enactment of the Act, repealing and replacing the 30-year-old legislation adding that the assent to the bill is a further demonstration of the genial relationship between the National Assembly and the Presidency.
According to Basiru, the assent to the bill was a validation of the efforts of the National Assembly in providing the needed legislative interventions for the revival of the nation’s economy. In his words, he said that “the amendment as passed by the Senate and House of Representatives was to strengthen the legal framework for the incorporation of companies, limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships, registration of business names, incorporation of trustees of certain communities, bodies, associations.
The bill is meant to address incidental matters, several corporate legal innovations, geared toward enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria because the provisions of the repealed Act had become very obsolete.
In further explanation of the outdated repealed Act, Basiru said that it could not effectively address challenges being faced by companies and incorporated trustees such as business rescue for insolvent companies and the merger of Incorporated Trustees for associations that share similar aims and objectives.
He observed that it was heartwarming to note that the new Act provides for innovative processes and procedures to ease the operations of companies where he listed such innovations operations to include the introduction of statements of compliance, replacing authorized share capital with minimum share capital to reduce costs of incorporating companies, provision for electronic filing, electronic share transfers, e-meetings, remote general meetings for private companies in response to the disruptions to close contact physical meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are the disclosure of persons with significant control of companies in a register of beneficial owners to enhance corporate accountability and transparency.
Besides the CAMA, he noted that the Senate had demonstrated commitment to legislative interventions to reposition the Nigerian economy, particularly to mitigate the disruptions occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic. He further revealed that the senate has recently passed a new Banks and Other Financial Institutions Bill, Railways Bill, Police Bill amongst other legislations awaiting concurrence by the House of Representatives and assent by Mr. President.
He reassured that the Senate and ultimately the 9th National Assembly would continue in its efforts of the constitutional mandate to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the Federation adding that the Senate would also continue to give to the executive the needed legislative cooperation that would support and maintain the wellbeing and security of the citizenry and prosperity of Nigeria.