Stakeholders have said, good corporate governance is a prerequisite for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country.
They also said, Nigeria needs sound corporate governance as the bedrock of building a strong economy.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the National Corporate Governance Summit (NCG 2022), themed: ‘Building a Strong and Virile Economy: The Role of Corporate Governance,’ they maintained that the nation is in dire need of solution providers and nation builders.
The two-day summit held virtually and physically, was jointly organised and hosted by the Institute of Directors (IoD), Centre for Corporate Governance (IoDCCG), in collaboration with the Finance Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN).
Immediate past minister, of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah said that corporate governance involves stakeholder management and allocation of resources.
According to him, the principles that come out of corporate governance can do a lot of good to the nation, adding that the discussion is coming at a time the nation wants to get it right politically.
Enelamah maintained that the private sector has a greater responsibility to do it right when it comes to corporate governance.
He said the summit was born out of the need to fill gaps in understanding the adoption and application of good corporate governance practices, not just in private sectors, but public institutions in Nigeria.
The Lagos State governor, Mr. Babagida Sanwo-Olu said, “corporate governance principles are at the heart of any effective and well-managed entity because they emphasise professionalism, stakeholder management, and other essential practices and processes that are key to the achievement of the mission and vision of any organisation whether public or private.
“I want to advocate that the scope of the corporate governance deepening and principle should be allowed to come into the public sector.
“There are highly promising organisations but whose life span has been cut short as a result of no Nigerians to put corporate governance principles in their operation.”
Chairman of the board of Polaris Bank Limited, Mr. Mohammed Kabir Ahmed, said good corporate governance impacts the economy in the area of efficient allocation of resources, access to capital, and sustainable development.
To achieve the desired compliance, he said, there is a need for some specialised code and sustained awareness, adding that, diversity, inclusion, and succession are issues to be focused on.
Minister of education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said corporate governance is critical to the fight against the corruption agenda of the present administration.
He, however, maintained that the level of awareness, understanding, and adoption of corporate governance in the country still remains very low, adding that is the major reason the summit of this nature should be encouraged.
The co-chairmen, National Organising Committee, Dr. Iheanyi Anyahara, noted that, the maiden edition of the summit is an effort deliberately put together to raise awareness of corporate governance principles and practices, as well as implementation.
The chairmen noted that there is a need to bring together the global concept and local perspective in order to build a strong and viral economy, adding that, no economy can grow without strong corporate governance.
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