Seal

The Corporate Affairs Commission has said that the use of common seal by companies was no longer mandatory.

A statement signed by CAC’s Head Media, Rasheed Mahe, quoted the Registrar General of the  Commission, Mr Garba Abubakar,  as saying  on Wednesday in Abuja while declaring open a one-day Customers’/ Stakeholders forum.

Represented by Abdulhakeem Mohammed, Director Compliance, the Registrar General enumerated series of reform initiatives embarked upon by the Commission pursuant to CAMA, 2020.

According to him, notable features of the new law include the dispensation of the appointment of company secretary by private companies pursuant to section 330 of the new law  .

He added that while electronic signature was introduced by the new law, one man was allowed to register a private company and incorporated trustees amalgamation with similar objectives was now possible under section 849.

The Registrar General also  said that the minimum share capital for private companies was increased to one hundred thousand and two million for public liability companies

He added  that it was upgraded to two million respectively under section 27 sub-section 2 of the act.

He further revealed that small companies and one-man company were now permitted to hold Statutory and Annual General Meeting abroad.

He noted  that the provisions of sections 705 and 707 which introduced the registration of accredited insolvency practitioner, liquidator, receiver or receiver manager states that such professionals can only practice upon obtaining due accreditation from the CAC.

Abubakar also said that  key reforms contained in the new law also stated that there was now prohibition of the combination of the office of the chairman and chief executive officer in one and the same person for public companies.

Abubakar stressed that the Commission was in collaboration with its software provider making strenuous efforts to fine tune its processes in line with global best practices

He  used the forum to reiterate the Commission’s resolve to continue to initiate and implement enduring institutional reforms tailored not only for the demands of ease of doing business .

He added that it was  also to establish a Registry that would rank as one of the best 10 in the world.

 He,  therefore, restated Commission’s    resolve to ensure complete digitisation of its operations to further provide more efficient and effective services in  2022.

In their separate goodwill messages, Dr. Balogun Abdulrasheed, Chairman Institute of Charted Accountants of Nigeria and Acting Managing Director , Abuja Enterprise Agency, Shehu Abdulkadir represented by Aisha Yusuf applauded the initiative and urged the Commission to sustain the tempo.

Speaking in the same vein, representatives from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Folarinwa Aluko, Tony Idoko and Owowo Clement applauded the CAC for the engagement and stressed the need for more frequent engagement.

They restated their commitment to partnering with the Commission and described as wonderfully world class, the ability of a Customer to register and download CAC registration certificate  globally.

The stakeholders however enjoined the Commission to review its post incorporation processes as well as enhance its customer engagement mechanism to become real time.