The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) in collaboration with NGX exchange and IOD Nigeria have facilitated the establishment of a corporate governance triangle aimed at enhancing businesses in Nigeria.

In an event hosted on Tuesday in Lagos by the three entities who are major stakeholders in the corporate circle, the Corporate Governance Triangle was established with the aim of enhancing businesses and strengthening corporate practices in Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the NBA-SBL, Mr Ayuli Jemide said that the impact of the unveiling in the corporate space is that it creates a lesson in cooperation and synergy.

He noted that “The first thing is that it is just a lesson in cooperation and synergy where three first class institutions come together and agree to get into a partnership.

“So the IOD, NGX and the NBA-SBL coming together to get into a partnership, is a lesson in synergy,” he said.

Speaking further, he stated that the three major stakeholders have come together to synergise, so as to make major impacts in conversations around corporate governance.

“These are three institutions that sit astride important stakeholders in the corporate governance conversation. “NBA-SBL sits astride lawyers who are the gate keepers advising companies, shareholders and directors on issues pertaining to corporate governance. “The NGX as a stock exchange sits astride all the shareholders who are the owners of businesses and of course the IOD is a warehouse for directors who are operators of these companies.

“So, there is no greater way to have a conversation about corporate governance than to bring these three institutions together

“Once we are together, we can forge ahead and begin to change the narrative regarding corporate governance in Nigeria,” he said

In his words, Jemide opined that in the long term, he sees the partnership as making the CGT, a key front leader in conversations related to corporate governance.

In a related development, the Senior Vice President of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Mr Fola Fagbule, on Tuesday in Lagos, affirmed that Nigeria ranks high internationally, as being a destination for foreign direct investment.

Fagbule who is a Head of Financial Advisory AFC, spoke during a plenary session in the 2022 edition Law Week of the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) holding at the civic centre in Lagos.

The plenary session is titled: “Arise Sleeping Giant : Unlocking Nigeria’s Potential as an Investment Destination”

Shedding light on the topic with respect to Nigeria’s ranking as an international investment destination, fagbule said that the nation has not done badly in being a very attractive destination for investment.

In his words, “Nigeria is still one of the top 10 destination for foreign direct investment into Africa, despite of the various challenges facing it”

He said that just like other countries like Egypt, Kenya, South Africa among others, Nigeria ranks “up there” in terms of investment.

He however noted that the country still had more investment opportunities to explore.

“If you think of the massive opportunities and deficit in terms of areas where other countries are doing better than us, and the significant flow of capital in that sector, then you find that Nigeria needs to do more.

“Nigeria has not done bad in attracting foreign investment, but there is still a lot that can be done,” he said.

On ways to improve the nation’s investment opportunities, he indicated that the nation attracted less than one billion dollars on foreign direct investment, adding that more can be done considering the size of the country.

Fagbule also noted that some other reasons for this low performance, stems from consequences of factors in the country such as micro economic instability, inflation, insecurity among others.

He said that if some of these impediments are addressed, it will grossly enhance and add up to Nigeria’s investment opportunities.

“It may be a huge challenge, but it requires us to be re-organised, more stable and predictable in terms of our regulations.

“Nigeria had projected to the world in time past, a very stable micro economic future, and we can do that again.

“We can get there,” he said

The theme of the 2022 law week of the NBA Lagos branch is “Democracy and Legal Order! Shaping the Future”