FRC to Stakeholders: We Will Demand Accountability, Transparency from Not-for-profit Institutions
Commissioner for Finance in Lagos, Dr. Rabiu Olowo
Dike Onwuamaeze
The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), Dr. Rabiu Olowo, has made it very clear to stakeholders that the council would implement the governance code for non-for-profit organisations and demand accountability and transparency from Public Interest Entities (PIEs) that are covered by the code.
Olowo made this declaration yesterday in Lagos during the “Stakeholder Engagement on the Draft Nigeria Not-For-Profit Governance Code (NNFPGC)” that was held to enable all the stakeholders express their views and make further inputs into the drafted governance code.
The stakeholder engagement attracted the attendance of Christian Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Bar Association, Non-Governmental Organisations, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, among others.
He said: “I am saying it categorically that we will demand accountability. There is no bargain for that.
“We will demand accountability from the not-for-profit sector. And I am sure that from the caliber of people we have here today, there is no one that is against this.
“But in line with our mandate we will demand accountability. We will demand transparency and will demand all those key principles in the code for non-profit-sector.”
Olowo said that it is obvious that no one is against the core principles of transparency, integrity etc. that were put together by the Technical Working Group (TWG) that produced the draft.
He asked: “What are the core principles? We are talking about integrity. Is there anyone who is against this principle? No one here!
“Is there anyone who is against the principle of transparency? I am not sure!
“We have exposed this document for a couple of months. And I have said that even from the discussions we are having today, your viewpoints will be taken into cognizance.”
Olowo said that implementing the governance code is part of the mandate of the FRC as the conscience of regulatory assurance in Nigeria.
According to him, “it is our mandate to bring out trust and confidence. Most of the organisations that will be scooped under this governance code are PIEs and we want to make sure that the interests of their stakeholders are taken care of.
“We as FRC are going to work and collaborate with you to ensure that we have a code that is acceptable to all.”
In his keynote address, Olowo said that yesterday’s engagement with key stakeholders in the Nigeria Not-for-Profit sector was a critical stage in the development of a governance code for institutions in the Not-for-Profit sector.
He said that effective monitoring of adherence and compliance to extant frameworks on financial reporting which are embedded in the International Financial Reporting Standards, local standards and good corporate governance are key to ensuring transparency and rebuilding confidence of existing and potential investors, who are players in the diverse sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
According to him, the journey to the drafted governance code began as a response to the global move towards instituting appropriate corporate behaviours and improved governance standards in institutions by those charged with governance oversight, be they private or public or not-for-profit sector institutions.
He said that the FRC between 2013 and 2016 pushed for the development of corporate governance codes for the three identified sectors and in 2016 when three separate codes were released.
His words: “But for reasons of default in due process, one of which was insufficient stakeholder engagement and lack of buy-in/acceptance, including concerns about the mandatory nature of the code for Not-for-Profit institutions, there was widespread backlash, which ultimately resulted in the suspension of the codes by the then Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelama.
“The minister, in his suspension order, highlighted the need for broader stakeholder engagement in the development of future governance frameworks. This is what we are doing here today.”
Olowo said that with benefits of hindsight and lessons learnt from the 2016 experience, the FRC embarked on a code development journey again in 2018 by setting up a technical committee under the headship of Mr. M.K. Ahmad, who is a role model in good corporate governance practices and the outcome was the successful completion and release of the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) 2018, for the private sector.
He said: “The acclaimed success so far recorded both in implementation and compliance with the NCCG 2018 by private sector entities, gave impetus to a new move by the FRC to once again develop codes for the other two very critical sectors: public sector and Not-For-Profit sectors so that institutions operating therein would be properly guided.”
However, the national legal adviser of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Dr. Titi Adegbile, asked for clarification on what would happen when an organisation declined to adapt the governance code.
Also, the representative of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, Pastor Barnabas Otoibi, of the Temple Rebuilders Ministry, demanded that faith organisations should be allowed to operate in accordance to their scriptures so that they would be useful to God and the society.
In the same vein, a representative of Spaces for Change/Action Group on Free Civic Space, Mr. Patrick Allain, observed that the governance code is an attempt to over regulate the not -for-profit organisations.
