CAMA Not Targeted At Churches, Says CAC

The Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC) has said that the new Companies And Allied Matters Law which was recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari is not targeted at Churches or any other Association.

The Registrar-General, CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, made the clarification during a retreat organised by the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria.

The theme of the retreat is “Covid-19 pandemic and new reforms initiatives by CAC.”

CAN had on Thursday, rejected the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, describing it as ungodly and a time bomb waiting to explode.

The body said it rejected the idea of bringing the church under the control of government.

The President of CAN, Dr Samson Ayokunle, rejected the amended law in a statement by his Special Assistant, Media and Communications, Adebayo Oladeji.

He said, “The law, to say the least, is unacceptable, ungodly, reprehensible and an ill-wind that blows no one any good. It is a time bomb waiting to explode.”

But speaking on the development, the CAC Boss said the law is not targeted at any religious Association.

He said the legal framework applies to all organisation registered as Incorporated Trustee whether religious, or social clubs.

He said the law provides the minimum standards on how these organisations should be governed, adding that once an association submits itself for regulatory oversight through registration, then it cannot now be asking for exemption.

Abubakar said the law on the provision of suspension of Trustees has stated the grounds upon which the government can intervene in their affairs.

He listed some of these grounds to include fraud, mismanagement, and threat to public interest among others.

He noted that based on the new law, before someone can be suspended, he must be heard while recommendations made by the
CAC board and the Minister of Industry Trade and Investment for approvals.

He described the process of suspension of Trustees as stringent arguing that even when someone is suspended, such Trustee member can approach the court to seek redress.

He said, “If you submit yourself for Regulatory oversight, you must obey the law. If you don’t want to obey the law, then don’t register. CAMA is not targeted at any particular group.

“We are talking about making our laws to be of global standards. We look at those provisions in other jurisdictions that will strengthen our legal framework.

“The difference between Association and Companies is that whatever assets that the Association owns should be used to take care of the objectives of the Association and not to be shared by the Trustees.

“Suspensions of Trustees is not targeted at any particular group. What we have done is to bring our laws to be consistent with other countries. We borrowed some of these from Charities Act of UK.”

He also said the new law now mandates the Association to submit annual accounts to the CAC.

He said some of these Associations are run from donations from foreign body and those providing these funds would want to know whether these funds are disbursed in line with global standards.

The CAC Boss said the CAM Law is aimed at supporting the ease of doing business reforms.

He said under the former law, the services of a legal practitioner is needed to register a business. He said this has affected the ease of doing business because it has added to the cost of registering Business.

The CAC Boss said under the new law, one may not require a legal practitioner to get any statutory requirement.

In the area of capacity to form a company, he said under the old law, the requirement is that two persons would be required to set up a company, adding that under the new law, only one person can register a company once he meets the criteria of 18 years, of sound mind, and not bankrupt.

He explained that the new provision would help individuals that have initiatives to register their companies without having cause to bring in people with other motives into such business.

In terms of classification of small companies, he said under the former law, all company must have Company Secretaries and auditors.

However, he said under the new law, this provision has been relaxed as small companies do not have to engage Company Secretaries or Auditors.