The Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Alhaji Garba Abubakar, says the commission is committed to implementing “Beneficial Ownership Information Disclosure’’ under the Open Government Partnership National Action Plan (NAP II).
Abubakar, represented by his Special Assistant, Mr Terver Ayua-Jor, said this in Abuja on Thursday at a two-day Annual General Meeting (AGM) organised by the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria.
The theme of the meeting is: “Repositioning the PWYP Coalition for Vision 2025 and Contemporary issues in the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) Process’’.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PWYP is a coalition of civil societies that is championing transparency and accountability in the extractive industry.
It has championed this through the scrutiny of revenue payments and receipts, tracking and accessibility to such records and publicity as the case may be.
The registrar-general said that the Companies and Allied Matters Acts (CAMA) signed into law by the President had provided the legal framework for Beneficial Ownership Information Disclosure in the country.
According to him, this is also referred to as Persons with Significant Control (PSC).
“The Corporate Affairs Commission has commenced the collection of data on Persons with Significant Control since January 2021.
“This information which is accessed in our portal at no cost in line with global requirements on disclosure will go a long way to provide the necessary information about the persons behind registered entities.
“These are persons that are or in the process of extracting natural resources in our environment and other sundry matters related thereto.
“The achievements so far recorded on this journey could not have been possible without the collective support and collaboration of all stakeholders including PWYP,’’ Abubakar said.
Mr Ibrahim Shuni, the Chairman, Governing Board of Trustees, PWYP Nigeria, said that the aim of the AGM was to elect new steering committee members that would run its affairs for the next three years.
Shuni expressed the hope that the moment a new team of steering committee emerged, some of the problems confronting the coalition would be resolved before the end of the meeting.
The Acting National Coordinator of PWYP, Mr Patrick Chiekwe, said the AGM was also to create an enviable platform to increase awareness of participants on NEITI audit reports and the roles of CSOs in the remediation process.
Chiekwe said that the meeting would improve understanding of nexus between contract transparency and the quality of life in Nigeria.
According to him, it will also strengthen capacities on beneficial ownership register in Nigeria and strategies for implementation. (NAN)
