Kolade Calls for Harmonisation of Corporate Governance Codes
By Judith Obaze
Founder/Chairman, Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria (SCGN) Christopher Kolade has called for the harmonisation of codes of corporate governance in Nigeria.
This, he said would will facilitate positive results for all stakeholders without constraining practitioners from achieving their respective objectives nor compromising overall corporate interest.
Speaking at the annual conference of the SCGN, with the theme: “Towards sustainable development: The role of the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance,” he said sustainable development within the context corporate governance should meet the needs of today without compromising the issues of the future as every code requires articulation for growth to occur.
Kolade further added that whatever code that is developed to control behaviour, must be flexible to withstand the test of time when challenges arise and must recognise the interest of different people who operate within the context of the set codes.
“Sustainable developments must not just meet the needs of today, but also seek to meet the needs of the future, as flexibility is important indicating that whatever codes that is adopted must allow the future to exercise an influence over it and when circumstances demand it must be flexible,” he said.
He added: “As codes may be certain parameters or boundaries of behaviours must facilitate the achievement of outcomes. There is possibility for us to be guilty of operating unvested interest and when you are working from the platform of unvested interest the danger is that you make be make immediate outcome of people. The only way to achieve our different interest is only when the corporate interest survives.”
In his keynote address the Chairman, Financial Reporting Council Nigeria, Mr. Adedotun Sulaiman, represented by Mr. Daniel Asapokhai, highlighted the importance of having national code of governance to influence more sustainable industries, citing that the different airline operators that have collapsed as a result of weak governance.
“The national codes provide new yardstick to grow the strength of Nigerian businesses and also a tools to ensure greater success to increasing government taxes, employment adding if proper understanding and application of Nigerian code will allow more foreign investment flow into our countries and help democratise,” he said.
The Chairman, Technical Committee, The Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance, Mr. Muhammad Ahmad, said that the committee engaged various regulatory agencies to develop this codes which is not prescriptive but a principle based codes, this removes multiplicity of meeting various codes and standards thereby allowing evenly compliance.
