National Code of Corporate Governance means ‘Change’- Jim Osayande

Niyi Olaoye

Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN),Mr. Obazee Jim Osayande says that the Federal Government’s decision to adopt a National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) is simply all about ‘change’ in financial reportage.

Jim Osayande who spoke today at the Council’s final public hearing on the National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja, in Lagos noted that Nigeria cannot be left out in this global phenomenon. As a result of this, he said, the Federal Government has taken a decision to adopt a National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) which is aimed at raising the standard of running entities’ in Nigeria.

He noted that at the FRC, “Our understanding of the change Mr. President is talking about is “change of epic proportions”. He said it is change of consciousness as well as a change of behaviour.

Jim Osayande noted that the premise of this requires an understanding of the fact that the pain to be endured from the change must be experienced as lesser pain to that of continuing the present course. He stressed that this is the journey Nigerians must undertake now in its consideration of this National Code of Corporate Government.

He, therefore, explained that the Code referred to as the National Code of Corporate Governance for the Private Sector in Nigeria 2016 is the outcome of a directive given to the Steering Committee on the National Code of Corporate Governance on 17th January, 2013 by the Honorable Minister of Trade and Investment, which the committee was chaired by Mr. Victor Odiase with the focal remit was to harmonize and unify all the existing sectoral corporate governance codes in Nigeria.

Business247 gathered that the sectoral corporate governance codes identifiable at the commencement of the Steering Committee’s work were the Code of Corporate Governance for Banks in Nigeria Post-Consolidation 2006; Code of Corporate Governance for Licensed Pensions Operators 2008 and Code of Corporate Governance for Insurance Industry in Nigeria 2009.

On the other hand, he said the Public Sector Governance Code in Nigeria 2015 is also an outcome of the directive given by the same Honorable Minister of Trade and Investments to the Steering Committee on Corporate Governance on 17th January 2013 to extend Corporate Governance to the Public Sector.

This, he said, is a commendable attempt by the Federal Government to correct the perceived defect in the “bottom-up” strategy used in introducing the concept of corporate governance into Nigeria in 2003, which limited the concept to listed and unlisted public companies and the Anglo-Saxon variant of board structure.

According to him, the need for corporate governance in Not-for-Profit Organisations (NFPOs) is hinged on good governance and orderly succession in view of the volume of funding they attract.

Jim Osayande maintained that this is urged on by humanitarian concerns over either glaring poverty and neglect, or economic mismanagement of some countries. He said donors have made significant donations directly to relevant NFPOs in the hope that they would engender greater mission fulfilment, donor value, and greater beneficiary satisfaction and trust than those given by Governments.

Similarly, he said many NFPOs operate with unknown frameworks, but with governments completely in the dark as to both their ownership and principal accountability. In the context of current global insurgency, he said the operations and funding of NFPOs raise serious security concerns, hence the need for good governance of NFPOs in the country.