President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 which he recently signed into law would enhance transparency and corporate accountability and help the fight against corruption.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, revealed this in a statement titled “CAMA Act will help us fight corruption, President Buhari explains at UNGA high-level summit.”

Adesina said Buhari spoke in a video message presented at the Open Government Partnership 2020 Virtual Leaders’ Summit on the sidelines of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States, and he spoke at a time stakeholders, including the Christian Association of Nigeria, are faulting some provisions of the law.

The president’s Special Adviser quoted the him as saying that “Since the inception of our administration in 2015, the government has been committed to changing international and domestic perceptions regarding Nigeria’s commitment to fight corruption and foster good governance.

“We focused on the task of dealing head-on with this destructive monster, which led to us joining the Open Government Partnership and making reform commitments such as to establish a public central register of beneficial owners of corporate entities.

“Since then, we have made significant progress in implementing tougher anti-corruption measures, including my recent assent to the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020.

“The Act provides a legal framework for the implementation of Beneficial Ownership Information Disclosure in Nigeria.

“Being an OGP member-country has helped Nigeria learn from other countries tackling similar challenges, and to build a coalition to support these reforms across the private sector and civil society. It has also aided our journey towards building citizens’ trust in government.”

In reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, Buhari who said it had become clear that governments cannot solve all the challenges of the pandemic alone,  argued that it is only through open governance and working with citizens that nations can succeed.

His words, ”We face a significant contraction in the global economy in 2020; the world is facing the unprecedented twin challenges of managing the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. ”In these times, citizens worldwide are seeking more information, engagement, and support from their governments.”

Buhari however pledged that his administration would continue to use its OGP membership to ensure that open government approaches strengthen pandemic management and added that the Nigerian government will sustain consultations and engagements with citizens through Civil Society Organisations and the Organised Private Sector on COVID-19 response and recovery plan.

He said, “These consultations are in line with the effort of our administration to encourage public participation in government policies and programmes

”Our recovery package includes support to businesses, to vulnerable communities and an expansion of public works. Our aim is to make all these efforts more effective by making them open.

” President Buhari recounted that soon after joining this partnership, Nigeria had the privilege of being elected to the OGP Global Steering Committee. As a leader in the OGP Steering Committee, President Buhari acknowledged that Nigeria has learnt from both government and non-government counterparts on international best practices.

”I am also glad that Nigeria’s pioneering sub-national Open Government Partnership Model has become one of the leading examples driving the expansion of the Open Government Partnership Local Programme.

”Nigeria will also champion the tenets of the Open Government Partnership through our leadership role in regional institutions.

”We aim to expand the partnership on the African Continent by continuing to play a leading role in the International Steering Committee.

”As we look forward to celebrating 10 years of the existence of the Open Government Partnership next year, it is my earnest wish that all countries in the world will adopt Open Government principles and help democracy live up to the expectations of citizens having a voice at and beyond the ballot box.”  

President Buhari further encouraged Nigerians to get involved in the OGP in order to help shape and sustain the country’s democracy now and in the future.