The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has remained committed to sustaining its digitisation efforts of the Federal Government for better service delivery and sourcing of more revenue for the government. Two Years down the line, the stewardship of Alhaji Garba Abubakar, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC has recorded some modest achievements.
The Corporate Affairs Commission has successfully embedded the Federal Inland Revenue Service Tax Identification Number on the Certificate of Registration of companies through the existing FIRS Stamp duty portal.
Under his leadership, the Commission has not stopped in vigorously reforming its operations in accordance with global best practices. The deployment of Limited Partnership (LP) and Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), being one of its recent achievements, is a soothening news to business owners in the country.
The revolutionary technological innovation brought about by the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA 2020) coupled with the innovative technology at the disposal of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja, has led to the Commission’s functionality, efficiency and highly commendable competence.
The Commission in the last few years has promoted ease of doing business and promoted entrepreneurship and economic prosperity among Nigerian entrepreneurs. The CAC, under the leadership of its Registrar-General, Alhaji Garba Abubakar has become a huge passage to doing business in Nigeria.
After upgrading the Companies Registration Portal to provide End to end registration, the Commission under his leadership has met the 24 hours service delivery performance target, a result of investment in ICT infrastructure and digitisation. Digitisation is the process of converting information into a digital (i.e. computer-readable) format. As a matter of fact, this is the first time in history of the Commission, thay customers can now print certificates with FIRS TIN or Verifiable Quick Response.
Digitisation is of crucial importance to data processing, storage and transmission because it “allows information of all kinds in all formats to be carried with the same efficiency and also intermingled”.
ICT infrastructure is the key factor to the achievement of 24 hours service delivery in order to actualize this, the Commission embarked on a total upgrade of its Wide Area Network (WAN) to VSAT-based network to a more reliable fibre based system. This has improved availability and also enhanced transactions.
The Commission has gotten the Minister of Trades and Investment’s consent to the Companies Regulation, 2021 made Pursuant to CAMA 2020.
Registration in Nigeria is now expeditiously done on-line and the certificates of registered companies are being printed online at the comfort of one’s office or bedroom. An easy to do process of filling the requisite forms for the company incorporation online has made the process easy for business owners.
The complaint unit of the CAC, has also been very effective. After being inundated with customers’ complaints and acknowledgment sent to the complainant, the Commission swings into action, and Pronto any issue is resolved. Its dedicated phone lines to address customers’ numerous complaints has also been an easy way out for those who are not online. Actually, the Commission introduced the first of its kind Company Registration Certificate with a verifiable QR code using a mobile phone camera or any other supported device.
More importantly, under the watch of CAC, scammers who operate fictitious companies and use them to commit all sorts of scam undetected, are being nabbed.
On the commission’s improved revenue, the commission in the year 2020 paid more than N3 billion operating surplus into the federation account and also settled more than N5 billion inherited liabilities, amongst others. Garba Abubakar has ensured that loop holes observed before he assumed office were blocked. Take for instance, prior to his assumption of office, the Commission has been spending more than 101% of its revenue on staff cost alone.
That does not mean to say Abubakar has continued to prioritise the training and retraining of staff. Regular promotion examination and training of more than 400 staffers are key in his administration.
The Commission has unveiled a brand new Staff Health Insurance Scheme and a new staff Housing revolving loan.
Abubakar at many fora has pledged to remain focused on working assiduously for the further growth of the commission.
The commission, like some other Agencies, is migrating from the use of Annual Performance Evaluation Review (APER) to Key Performance Indicators (KPI). APER system has been described as subjective and obsolete, while the KPI method is structured into parts A, B, and C, consisting of assessment for the year under review and the upcoming year, amongst others.
Abubakar’s leadership has settled part of the inherited CAC Staff pension contributions liabilities of more than N1.5B. As at December 2020, less than a year after he resumed office, Garba Abubakar cleared the inherited CAC Staff PAYE liabilities to the tune of N1. 3 billion.
His administration has successfully remitted over N2 billion Operating Surplus to the Federal government’s account. He has also ensured the reduction in Insurance Premium for the Commission’s Assets through meticulous and prudent audit of existing assets.
It is pertinent to commend CAC, for meticulously discharging its duties efficiently, diligently, competently, timeously and incorruptibly.
The Commission has adorned the breastplates of efficiency, competence and integrity in the discharge of its duties and has enhanced the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
