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CAC prepares companies’ Act amendment bill

By on August 9, 2016

The Corporate Affairs Commission is currently finalising the draft bill for the amendment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act to strengthen the regulatory and enforcement powers of the commission.

The Director, Public Affairs, CAC, Mr. Williams Churchill, while speaking at a retreat with the theme: ‘Tomorrow’s registry today’, said already, the commission, as part of measures aimed at ensuring an inclusive bill, had received inputs from stakeholders.

He lamented that CAMA, which established the CAC, had been in operation for over 20 years, noting that the amendment was needed to enable the commission to keep pace with changing business practices.

Churchill said, “The CAMA 1990, which established the CAC, has been in operation for 20 years now. As part of efforts to bring CAMA in conformity with the current global trends in company administration and regulation, the CAC has carried out an in-house review of its provisions.

“CAMA requires substantial amendments to enable it keep to pace with the changing economic circumstances and modern business practices. The amendment will strengthen the regulatory and enforcement powers of the commission.

“To this end, the commission has put together a draft bill to repeal the Act and enactment of CAMA 2016.”

Also speaking at the event, the Registrar-General, CAC, Mr. Bello Mahmud, said the new draft bill would build on the successes recorded with the online registration portal, which was launched in 2014.

He said the amendment would further ensure the digitisation of company registration, adding that currently, many people were not taking advantage of the CAC portal that offered quick registration for companies.

In order to encourage the use of the commission’s portal as well as reduce the presence of customers at its office, Bello, who was represented at the event by his Special Adviser, Mr. Garba Abubakar, said from September 1, this year, all customers in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu and Port Harcourt would not be allowed to submit pre-incorporation document and name search at the commission’s office.

He said, “They must initiate the transactions and pay on the portal. As part of measures to ease the registration of business, we have also extended this service (online portal) to additional 14 offices.

“Some of them are Owerri, Umuahia, Calabar, Uyo, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ekiti, Bauchi, Yola, Jos, Makurdi and Ilorin.”

 

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