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The New Nigeria’s Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA)

The New Nigeria’s Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA)

The updated Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) in Nigeria is a good policy. With a minor update, it has a promise to unlock massive investments while boosting economic growth. For me, the new CAMA is very close to what you have in most modern economies except that it went deep into the affairs of religious organizations and non-profit organizations. 

With what we have seen with AMCON, the bad debt agency in Nigeria, I would not trust Aso Rock (of today and the near future) to have the accrued powers, as stated in the Act, over nonprofits, churches, (and mosques). That one is a no go area: they can take over a church school and sell it off because we have seen that playbook in the past. Today, no one has clearly stated what happened to stocks of Bank PHB even though that bank was traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Until we can do simple things, governments should leave churches (and mosques) alone. 

I support the religious leaders who are asking the government to amend that section. Aso Rock over the years have not shown discipline to be trusted with sacred assets. If a pastor criticizes a government, that church would be in trouble with the assets frozen, and management changed. You can say that about imams and mosques. Giving politicians a legal tool to suspend, fire and change religious and non-profit leaders  will not be wise. Governments should focus on the capital markets and fix them before thinking of helping churches. If you check, our churches do not need help as we are the fastest growing market in that domain in the world. Abuja can stop that growth with New CAMA. Yes, it is working – leave it alone.

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So, if you can ignore the above noted issue, this Act is what Nigeria needs now. Here are five key things in the Act which you will like:

  • 1.the insolvency provisions to help companies in distress
  • 2.Restriction on the number of public companies in which a person can serve as a director
  • 3. Ability of an individual to form a single-shareholder company
  • 4.Replacement of authorized capital with minimum share capital
  • 5.Electronic filing, virtual meetings and electronic share transfers.

Nigeria’s New Companies Act (CAMA) Will Attract Investments And Boost Economic Growth


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4 THOUGHTS ON The New Nigeria’s Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA)

  1. In other words, the government prepared a good soup but managed to add excess salt. Still not a delicious soup, because it’s very difficult to eat.

    Whenever we wish to address a national issue, after all the supposed good job, the remaining most important question to ask should be, what is it we are not seeing right now but could become a problem once we approve this?

    Until we train our minds to think and address challenges with such nuances, we will keep delivering average performances, even when we keep applauding ourselves.

    You can imagine a Muslim minister locking up a church, or a Christian minister locking up a mosque. We still don’t seem to have grown some sense in this country. This singular issue is more weighty than every other good thing from the Act, for those who understand the delicate configuration of this geographic space.

    No thanks to the National Assembly that could not expunge that particular section.

  2. Thanks for this write-up. It’s quite amazing how an administration could wake up on the wrong side of the bed one day and enact laws that they feel citizens ‘must’ live by. Well, I am not surprised that they came up with such ideas.

    This absurd line of thought that the government can oversee religious organisations is not surprising, afterall we see the result of their leadership. It’s only infants that can think in that line.

    The religious organisations that they want to ‘pocket’ has done so well and impacted so many, that even if to the outside world, Nigeria is synonymous to corruption, the religious organisations have been an emblem of hope, righteousness and service to humanity. Moreover, the biggest churches in the world are situated in one country alone. They are so well runned that some can boast of 24-hour light in over 20 years, built universities that almost parallels those of the west and have never owed staff salary once. Yet, they are not government backed or funded. Living faith church alone has a staff strength of 18000 and they have never owed. But when you look at past and present adminstration, just maintaining unity secondary schools(not universities) and providing constant 12-hour light in some towns(not villages) is a herculean task. There are some states that staff are not paid for 18 months. As for minimum wage, how many states are implementing it?

    Then you now begin to wonder who should be pocketing who? Whoever brought up this idea, I am really really ashamed. No wonder we don’t get things done well in this nation.

    My hope is the government should ignore trivial issues and begin to work on weightier matters.

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