CAMA not targeted at churches, CAC clarifies
By Philip Clement
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 as widely speculated.
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 was “Covid-19 pandemic and new reforms initiatives by CAC.”
CAN had had rejected the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, describing it as ungodly and a time-bomb waiting to explode, Daily Times gathered.
The body said it rejected the idea of bringing the church under the control of the 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 an 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 the 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.
READ ALSO: No going back on amended CAMA — CAC
“The difference between Association and Companies are 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 are 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 said.
