With an intent to curb corruption in Nigeria through the effective institutionalisation of the Beneficiary Ownership Transparency Register, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, on behalf of the Accountability in Extractive Sector, cluster within the framework of the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement project being implemented by Palladium with funding from the United States Agency for International Development, recently organised a one day dialogue aimed at shaping advocacy for policy and legal reforms around beneficial ownership register. Sunday Ehigiator reports
Nigeria occupies a special place in Africa and global affairs. It is Africa’s largest economy and 26 in the world, with a great potential to become a major player in the global economy through its human and natural endowments. However, as recognised by the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020), this potential has remained relatively untapped over the years partly because of corruption and management of public finances, resulting in poor social and development indices.
President Muhammadu Buhari, during his swearing-in ceremony in 2015, promised Nigerians that the fight against corruption was a cardinal part of his administration. His commitment to a full-scale anticorruption agenda was accentuated in May 2016, when he attended the International Anti-Corruption Summit organised by the government of the United Kingdom.
It was on this global stage that he reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening anti-corruption reforms through implementing programs aimed at ‘exposing corruption; punishing the corrupt and providing to the victims of corruption; and, driving out the culture of corruption.
Following these commitments, the Federal Government sought to deepen institutional and policy reforms and this led to Nigeria joining the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in July 2016.
The OGP is an international multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation. It brings together government and civil society champions of reforms who recognise that government is likely to be more effective and credible when governance is open to public input and oversight.
At the national level, OGP introduces a domestic policy mechanism through which the government and civil society can have an ongoing dialogue. At the international level, it provides a global platform to connect, empower and support domestic reformers committed to transforming any society through openness.
Despite these multilevel programs, the significant challenges in optimizing domestic resources, revenue mobilization for sustained development financing, have been occasioned by the obscurity of the true state of the country’s full public finance and resource management processes, which include undisclosed ownership of corporate entities, tax evasion, and avoidance.
In response to this, several initiatives and efforts have been introduced, including the institutionalisation of a beneficial ownership report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) through the launch of the Opening Extractives Programme (OEP), a global five-year scheme to unveil the real owners of assets in Nigeria’s oil, gas and mining sectors, in November 2021.
Also is the enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 in August 2020, which provides for the establishment of a beneficial ownership register for all corporate entities in Nigeria by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); and the signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law in August 2021 which provides a legal framework for the effective and efficient implementation and integration of open data reforms like the beneficial ownership transparency initiative.
However, while these efforts are commendable, it is worthy to note that the BO transparency register is not an end in itself but a means to an end, as its effectiveness towards accountability in the extractive sector is yet to achieve significant results.
It was against this backdrop that the CISLAC-led AES cluster with support from USAID on Thursday April 29th, 2022 organised one-day policy dialogue in Lagos which aim was anchored upon the existence of and expectations from the effective implementation of the above frameworks to ascertain the status of progress in the implementation of the beneficial ownership transparency initiative in Nigeria.
In his address, CISLAC Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani said while the efforts of NEITI are commendable for making efforts in establishing an extractive sector register, legitimate corporate businesses have an integral role to play in ensuring the effectiveness of the register.
According to him, “While legitimate corporate businesses have an integral role in national development, the involvement of Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) who conceal corruptly acquired wealth through the complex networks of companies deliberately created to hide their identities has further increased the risks they pose to non-fortified economies. The Siemens, Halliburton, and Malabu oil scandals, to cite a few high-profile cases, had a net impact on revenue leakages that were unbearable for the country’s finances and the citizens’ economic well-being.
“We were already facing some sanctions from the European Union for the nonexistence of anti-money laundering legislation; while we see and hear of prosecutions of individuals and entities involved in the Panama papers leaks and the Wiki-leaks among others, there seems to be no legal framework that enables the convictions of all that was involved from Nigeria.
“Aside from the fear of the international community, it is worthy of note here that concealing of the beneficial owners costs lives of our fellow countrymen as terrorists use international financial systems to sustain their operations.”
Rafsanjani noted that without transparent ownership of Nigerian and international companies operating within the Nigerian jurisdiction, Nigeria will not be able to stop the bleeding of cash through illicit financial outflows which are perpetually on a geometric progressive increase year on year and cost the country about $17 billion annually.
He thereby expressed the belief that a collaborative partnership by relevant stakeholders in the beneficial ownership campaign will help give a voice to “this simple but strategic endeavour that will help curb corruption in our financial, procurement and other strategic sectors and contribute effectively to domestic revenue mobilisation for financing development of critical sectors of the economy.”
In brief remarks by other stakeholders at the event who pleaded anonymity, they further stressed the need for a strengthened and robust collaboration among all concerned stakeholders to ensure the complete institutionalisation of an open, effective, and free-for-all ‘Beneficiary Ownership (BO) Transparency Register’.
According to a source from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the lack of transparency on the part of business owners hampers investigation of corrupt practices, as most of them present invisible addresses that can’t be traced while some even put unborn children as directors or use their family names interchangeably. He, therefore, stressed stronger collaboration with the commission to help tackle the menace.
From the angle of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), it also revealed that some companies try to evade tax by not declaring their profit or even hiding their income tax under a pseudonym.
“Some don’t separate company tax from personal income which makes it difficult for the regulatory authority to regulate and monitor. And for the extractive sector where both foreigners and Nigerians are involved, it is still a problem dealing with leakages, as some elements still connive with them.”
The representative thereby concluded that to fight these battles and rid the country of corruption, all hands must be on deck, as it is a collective responsibility that if won will move the nation forward.
Founded on January 22, 1995, THISDAY is published by THISDAY NEWSPAPERS LTD., 35 Creek Road Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria with offices in 36 states of Nigeria , the Federal Capital Territory and around the world. It is Nigeria’s most authoritative news media available on all platforms for the political, business, professional and diplomatic elite and broader middle classes while serving as the meeting point of new ideas, culture and technology for the aspirationals and millennials. The newspaper is a public trust dedicated to the pursuit of truth and reason covering a range of issues from breaking news to politics, business, the markets, the arts, sports and community to the crossroads of people and society.
“Yesterday, a news organization published a copy of a draft opinion in a pending case,” were the affirmative words of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, John Roberts.
The yesterday he referred to is Monday May 2, 2022; and the news organization is Politico. Being the first news platform to publish that unprecedented disclosure of the apex court’s contemplations and considerations, Politico, literally, catapulted its emerging clout and web traffic to the stratosphere.
The issue is the contentious and divisive abortion matter; specifically the indication of the draft that the Supreme Court is leaning toward overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade. The draft opinion calls the Roe v Wade decision which favors the right to abortion “egregiously wrong from the start…. We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Justice Samuel Alito stated in the draft document, titled the “Opinion of the Court.”He added in the draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Justice Roberts confirmed that the leak was accurate. He noted that “Justices circulate draft opinions internally as a routine and essential part of the Court’s confidential deliberative work. Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”
In America, the politics and propaganda which follow the perennially controversial abortion issue are too many. There are mainly two camps.
First, the groups which support what they consider to be “a woman’s right to choose” abortion. Democratic party activists and its leading members, including President Joe Biden, champion this position.
Second, for those who oppose Roe v Wade, it is a rallying cry and call to a moral duty to protect “the unborn child and uphold the sanctity of life.” Republican party activists and its leading members, including former President Donald Trump, champion this side of the argument.
The issue of abortion remains deeply contentious as it has been before and since 1973 ruling by the Supreme Court — no matter the side of the fence you may belong! The nine-member court, currently, is dominated by conservative jurists. It is important to note that three of the justices were nominated by Trump.
On the impact of the leak, Politico’s reporter Josh Gerstein assessed it this way: “No draft decision in the modern history of the court has been disclosed publicly while a case was still pending. The unprecedented revelation is bound to intensify the debate over what was already the most controversial case on the docket this term.”
On his part, Justice Roberts stated that “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way. We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce – permanent employees and law clerks alike – intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law.
Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”
Overall, I do know that there are several privacy rights of choice and moral positions on the abortion issue which will continue to clash. It’s a dominant cultural ideological ratios flashpoint Americans move out of wok and roll still want to cross the entire world. Regardless of what the Supreme Court says!
*Dr. Nwangwu serves as Founder and Publisher of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com
Founded on January 22, 1995, THISDAY is published by THISDAY NEWSPAPERS LTD., 35 Creek Road Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria with offices in 36 states of Nigeria , the Federal Capital Territory and around the world. It is Nigeria’s most authoritative news media available on all platforms for the political, business, professional and diplomatic elite and broader middle classes while serving as the meeting point of new ideas, culture and technology for the aspirationals and millennials. The newspaper is a public trust dedicated to the pursuit of truth and reason covering a range of issues from breaking news to politics, business, the markets, the arts, sports and community to the crossroads of people and society.
Anthony Kila argues that rather than pour anger on the Minister off Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) for perceived bribery of delegates from Kebbi State, in order to fulfill his gubernatorial ambition, this righteous indignation should be directed at changing the system that breeds corruption, not an individual
Dear Readers
One the major item that made headlines and attracted comments by readers and non-readers was the arrival and distribution of luxury cars linked to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN). Thanks to the internet and social media in particular, perhaps you have seen images of the vehicles online. The cars, we are told belong to the class of the most expensive brands and within those brands they are top of the range.
Pure Class. I use the vague term “linked” because of the various chapters of the news about the luxury cars that appeared in Kebbi State. Chapter 1: The media breaks the news that Hon Abubakar Malami, the chief law officer of the land, has distributed premium cars to his political associates and delegates in Kebbi State. The reason for this fit of generosity, we are told, is due to the Minister’s ambition to become the Governor of Kebbi State.
These gifts in form of luxury motor cars are there to help the party delegates in Kebbi State take a better look at the ambition of the Minister of Justice and give him a soft landing, media reports imply. Chapter 2: The Attorney General of the Federation replies, first through his media aides, then personally and directly that he did not donate any car to any delegate. To prove his point, the Minister for Justice calls as witness the national secretariat of his party (the APC) and invites journalists to do their own investigation. The cars we saw online and in print are for workers of a foundation to which he is associated, the minister explains.
They are gifts from his friends and associates who donated and distributed vehicles to long-term workers in the Khadimiyya Foundation. Arent they lucky?Reactions to the news and denial have not been favourable to Hon. Abubakar Malami. I have not come across anyone or comment that doubts media reports or believes the Hon. Minister for Justice. I have had chance to meet Abubakar Malami more than once during the CPC days (Congress for Progressive Change), he was not a minister then and there were no telling signs of a gubernatorial ambition. The Malami of then was a young reserved party man and party legal adviser that displayed no particular propensity for attention let alone controversy.
Who knows how he is taking all this attention; I wonder how he is holding up lately generally? Most people just went from reading the news to condemning and criticizing him. That is another indication and confirmation, if need be, of how low the trust index for politicians and institutions is in the country. Reading and listening to comments on social media and other spaces, it is clear most people simply and swiftly concluded that the Attorney General of the Federation is guilty as charged. People seem to concur that he must have indeed bought those cars for delegates with the intention of buying them or at least buying their votes. Most people also assume that the money used for buying the cars must be from one shady deal or the other. Bribes from criminals, abuse of office for self-enrichment or outright looting, they guess. Understandable and even logical as the feelings are, it is my view however that there is no point blaming Malami.
Let us face it sincerely, how many politicians do we know that can truly say that he or she has been above aboard in the process of getting to office and in the mode of managing power once in office? There are currently 36 Governors in Nigeria and there are three senators from each state of the federation plus one from Abuja. Can anyone of them honestly say they got into power without bribing delegates or giving gifts to some party stalwarts. I know some politicians that have tried not to bribe or give gifts. I also know that the CV and profiles of such politicians reads “aspirants” not “elected” today.
Abubakar Malami has already denied doing so, but does the fact that others give and bribe justify Malami doing the same? No, not one bit and that is not the case here. The point here is that rather than calling out the individual we need to look at the system. The problem we have and the point we need to spend energy and intellect on is understanding and changing a system that demands and condones corruption. We need to find a way to destroy and reset a system that causes and allows a few people who are politicians to spend in a season what most people who are citizens can only dream of having in a life time.
Think about it, these rich politicians are spending so much money in order to serve poor citizens. What do we call that? Irony or paradox? Who are these delegates that politicians have to bribe and pay anyway? We know they decide who bears party flags but how qualified are they? What is their claim to being king maker for their parties and indirectly but essentially for the country? What is their stake in the party and in the country? Are they tax payers? Do we have proof that they have paid party dues? What do they believe in? How much do they care about the integrity of the system they are delegate to manage? Political parties are selling their expression of interest and nomination forms at astronomical fees and people are cringing.
Beyond the understandable righteous indignation provoked by these obscene fees maybe we should insist that anyone that buys a party nomination form or donate towards the buying of party nomination form should not only declare the source of their income, submit mode of payment and donations but also provide up to date proof of tax payment. With the state of our education system: on one side, we have ASUU on strike because they want money, and student unrest on the other side because they want to study, I have a proposal and request for the attention of the chairmen of political parties: Please be kind enough to donate some of the money you are getting from sales of forms to ASUU. You can call it Corporate Social Responsibility. It should not cost you too much given that after the first aspirant has bought his or her form, every other form is pure profit.
