Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba

The Companies and Allied Matters Amendment Act 2020 will ensure transparency of the ownership and control of all companies involved in property purchase and public contracting in Nigeria, the Federal Government stated on Thursday.

Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, said this while commenting on the recent signing of the Act by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Agba, in a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja by his Special Assistant on Media, Ojeifo Sufuyan, said the new law expressly required companies in Nigeria to disclose beneficial owners above a certain threshold.

He was quoted as saying, “The law gives legal backing to the implementation of Nigeria’s commitment to establish a public register of beneficial owners of corporate entities in its Open Government Partnership 2019 – 2021 National Action Plan.

“While the signing of the law is a milestone, it is only the beginning of a long journey to building a technologically-viable structure of tackling corruption.”

He said the fight against corruption would require building institutional capacities, processes, as well as collaboration among government, citizens and bilateral partners to ensure that the needs of all stakeholders were captured and met.

Source :punch