OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE
OSINBAJO TO CHURCH LEADERS:
CONCERNS ABOUT CAMA CAN BE ADDRESSED THROUGH AMMENDMENT BY NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
*VP adds: “We are in a democracy, there is a process by which things can be done”
In
an effort to allay fears expressed by the leadership of the Church
about the recently enacted Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020,
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN has said concerns can be processed
through possible amendment of the contentious section of the law through
a proposal to the National Assembly.
The Vice President stated
this on Thursday during a special conversation at the ongoing Nigerian
Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference.
Responding to a
question about reactions to CAMA, the Vice President said “what can be
done is that, whatever the proposal for amendment may be, whatever the
views of the leadership of the church may be, regarding the question of
how the trustees, whether they are interim trustees or not, can be put
in the form of a proposal that will be taken to the National Assembly
for consideration for amendment to the law, that is the process which is
entirely opened and ought to be pursued.”
Continuing, Prof.
Osinbajo said “we are in a democracy and there is a process by which
things can be done and that process is the one where you bring forward
amendments to the National Assembly and they will do whatever is
considered useful in the circumstance.”
Further clarifying the
CAMA law, the Vice President said “it is a massive legislation that
covers a wide range of issues on companies - general meetings,
appointment of directors etc. Now, there is a small portion of it called
the Incorporated Trustees Section, that small section of it is the
section that regulates charities.
“Churches, Mosques and church
organizations are regarded as charities. It is the Incorporated Trustees
Section of the Companies and Allied Matters Act that has become
controversial. And because churches are charities, the provisions in the
incorporated trustees section obviously affect the churches.”
Speaking
about the fears expressed by the Church, the Vice President said “what
the Churches are concerned about is a provision that says that in the
event that some wrong-doing is found to be perpetrated by the trustees
of the particular organization or Church, the Registrar-General of the
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) can go to court and get an order to
appoint interim administrators or interim trustees for the Church or
whichever charity organization and manage the organization.”
“The
concern of the Churches is that it could lead to a situation where
practically anybody could be appointed as a trustee to oversee the
Church and a Church or a Mosque is a spiritual organization and if you
do not share the same faith with the Church or Mosque, you may be the
wrong person and if a wrong is appointed, you may create more trouble
for the organization,” the Vice President added.
When asked by
the moderator (Nduka Ogbeibena) if pastors are, by their actions,
unwilling to be accountable in the management of their organizations,
the Vice President said the issue is rather the fear of abuse of the law
than avoiding accountability.
According to Prof. Osinbajo, “As a
general position, I do not think it will be right to say that pastors
don’t want to be accountable. I believe that several Christian
organizations and pastors are willing to be accountable. The problems
that they may have is ensuring that processes are not abused in such a
way as to compromise the entire organization. And I think that if all
that is required is some process of accountability, I think it will be
easier for organizations to accept that.”
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
27th August 2020
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