Acting Registrar-General harps on need for CAC enabling legislation

The Acting Registrar-General, Cooperate Affairs Commission (CAC), Mrs. Azuka Azinge has said that signing into law the commission’s enabling legislation will allow the Commission to realise its dream of being a world class companies’ registry.

Azinge said this on Thursday in Abuja, at a conference organised by Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) in collaboration with the CAC.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CAC is the sole government agency responsible for registration and regulation of companies, business names and incorporated trustees in the country.

Her comment came against the background of the commission’s Companies and Allied Matters (CAM) Bill 2019, passed by the National Assembly and transmitted to the President for assent. The CAMA Bill 2019 if assented to would repeal the extant statute (The Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), Cap C20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004).

She also said the commission was determined to ensure simplified business registration by streamlining its processes and procedures to encourage businesses to formalise.

Azinge said the commission had been working closely with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) since its establishment in 2016.

She added that as part of efforts to achieve its vision of being a world Class companies’ registry, the commission had embarked on several reform initiatives aimed at making Nigeria the preferred investment destination.

The acting registrar said while some of the reforms had been concluded others were on-going.
She listed some of the reforms to include the introduction of help desk lines with email service, feedback mechanism, and removal of requirement for proficiency certificates as condition for business registration.

Others, Azinge said, were the full decentralisation of operations, 24 hours online registration of businesses, digitalisation of legacy records and introduction of functional external and internal communication robust website.

She added that with respect to small businesses which contributed significantly to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the commission successfully implemented the Business Incentive Strategy (BIS).

She added that under the BIS, cost of registration of business was reduced by 50 per cent to enable Micro Small and Medium Enterprises to formalise their businesses.

She said that a total of 244,428 business names were registered during the period.

She commended the leadership of CICAN for its efforts, dynamism and professionalism in reporting government programmes and policies to the public.

“I am particularly proud of the existing partnership between the commission and CICAN, and wish to commend the professional manner in which its members perform their functions.

“It is indeed a partnership that has been working, I wish to re-affirm that the management of CAC remains committed to the reform agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration to take Nigeria to the next level,’’ she said.

Earlier, Fredrick Idehai, CICAN Chairman, said the association was always ready to partner stakeholders to drive the nation’s economy to an enviable height.

He said the conference was organised by CICAN as part of its contribution to deepen conversations around key economic issues required to push the Nigerian economy to an enviable growth level.

This, the association chairman said, was critical to move the country from the status of a sleeping giant to an active giant in Africa.

The theme of the conference was; “Next Level Agenda; Unlocking The Under-utilised Potentials of the None-Oil Sector, The Role of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises”.