The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says the recent amendments of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) do not address the concerns of the Nigerian business community.
They called for a review to reflect the views and perspectives of the business community.
The stakeholders also argued that the bill lacked wider consultations from key sectors of the economy.
Babatunde Ruwase, president, LCCI, said at a stakeholders’ forum on repeal and re-enactment of the CAMA 2018 in Lagos that there are areas that need to be fine-tuned on the bill to ensure that the desired outcomes are realised.
“The Bill has passed by the Senate and currently awaiting the consideration by the House of Representatives. This is a window of opportunity that we would like to explore to make the necessary inputs,” Ruwase said.
He acknowledged that many provisions in the nation’s laws were not in tune with current realities, but stressed that recent amendments to the CAMA was not perfect to address concerns of the business community.
“Some of these provisions have been in our statute books for 30 years or more and yet we are operating in a business environment which is very dynamic. Things are changing almost on a daily basis and shaping the way businesses are done,” he said, adding that Nigeria cannot afford a static legislation in a dynamic investment environment.
He commended the National Assembly and other stakeholders in the private sector and civil society for their role in the review of CAMA, but stated that the amendment was not perfect.
Also speaking at the event, Adekunle Aina, professor of commercial Law, University of Ibadan, said the bill was obsolete and lacked a comprehensive review by key stakeholders, saying the bill did not address some concerns such as minority protection, denture holders and floating charges.
“Sustainable governance has not been touched. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is almost non- existent under our laws. We are not even talking about sustainable governance to cater for the nation’s unborn generation. These are issues that should have been addressed in the bill,” Aina said.
He added that Nigeria is not attracting social investments simply because of the absence of a proper framework to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in this regard.
