FRCN, IoD broker partnership to drive corporate governance

Published By Auwal Ahmad On Feb 9, 2022

L-R: Dr Ije Jidenma, President, Institute of Directors (IoD) and Amb. Shuaibu Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) during a courtesy visit on Wednesday in Lagos

FRCN, IoD broker partnership to drive corporate governance

The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria(FRCN) and the Institute of Directors (IoD) have brokered a partnership aimed at promoting ethical leadership and entrenching good corporate governance in the public and private sectors.

Dr Ije Jidenma, President, IoD, during a courtesy visit to the FRCN in Lagos, said the partnership was in line with the institute’s mandate to advocate corporate governance, transparency, business ethics and leadership.

Jidenma recalled that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was executed between both organisations in 2018 aimed at deepening the compliance of stakeholders with the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) 2018.

She stated that the institute saw the FRCN as a critical partner in its quest to improve the professional capacity and competence of directors and business leaders.

“We are committed to the formulation of business-friendly policies for our members and indeed, the Nigerian business environment.

“In this regard, FRCN and IoD Nigeria are partners in progress and our objectives are similar.

“We are both concerned about good corporate governance and best practice in Nigeria’s public, private and not for profit sectors for a better society.

“The need for collaboration and complementarity, therefore, cannot be overemphasized.

“It was agreed that IoD Nigeria will lead programmes that will support the council in publicising the code, especially with regards to the small and medium-sized organisations.

“We believe that we have only just scratched the surface of the content of this MoU and we are here to reiterate our commitment to the MoU and our willingness to execute it to the letter.

“We therefore further extend IoD Nigeria’s hands of fellowship to FRCN for the use of the array of seasoned professionals in IoD Nigeria as facilitators in any FRCN programmes, particularly in governance, operational and technical issues,” she said.

She reiterated the institute’s commitment to contributing its quota to the amendment of the FRCN Act to make it fully representative of the opinions of all stakeholders.

Responding, Amb. Shuaibu Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, FRCN, said the partnership would strengthen the relationship between both organisations to drive and develop corporate governance codes for better national outcomes.

Ahmed revealed that the FRCN was developing a Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) aimed at addressing the needs of the public sector and non for-profit organisations.

He said that 130 public sector organisations including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) filed their financial reports with the FRCN in 2021.

Ahmed called for more collaboration and quarterly training of staff to drive corporate governance and avoid duplication of efforts.

He also stressed the need for IoD to be on the FRCN governing council board.

“We are calling on the IoD for support and partnership with more emphasis on corporate governance of the public sector arena as the biggest player of the economy.

“The FRCN amendment bill has gone through some reading at the National Assembly to give us more power to carry out our duties of enforcing filings.

“We are willing to work in every capacity to reignite areas of the MoU and bring it back to life, and reassure you of our readiness to work closely for the progress of corporate governance in Nigeria,” he said.

FRCN IoD broker partnership to drive corporate governance