The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are set to inaugurate a National Beneficial Ownership Register in January 2022.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji and Registrar General of CAC, Malam Garba Abubakar, announced this at the on-going Conference of State Parties on United Nations Convention Against Corruption in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Orji, in a statement on Thursday by Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, Deputy Director/Head Communications and Advocacy, NEITI, explained that under the joint inter-agency collaboration with the CAC, the NEITI Beneficial Ownership register was filled with facts.
According to him, the register is filled with information and data on who owns what in the oil, gas and mining sectors will merge with CAC Beneficial Ownership Portal that covers all registered companies in Nigeria.
He said with a national integrated Beneficial Ownership Portal, NEITI and CAC would be positioned to support government efforts at revenue growth by checking capital flight, tax evasion, terrorism financing illicit financial flows and outright economic sabotage.
Addressing a special panel on Beneficial Ownership at the Conference, the NEITI Executive Secretary identified political will, stakeholders’ consultation, institutional and citizen’s ownership as well as civil society partnership as critical success factors that have led Nigeria’s efforts.
Meanwhile Nigeria has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Convention Against Corruption on the use of Beneficial Ownership Information and Data Disclosure to identify, track, recover and return assets looted or stolen from developing countries.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, announced this while addressing the 9th Session of Conference of State Parties in progress in Sharm EL Sheikh, Egypt.
Mallami explained that the draft resolution was submitted jointly with the support and partnership of five other developing countries -including Kenya, Pakistan, Peru and Saudi Arabia.
He informed the UN Convention that Nigeria had put in place institutional structures and legislations to protect its resources.
He conveyed Nigeria’s appeal to the conference to consider the draft resolution on its merit in view of its strategic importance in recovering looted assets from developing countries.
The Nigerian delegation to the conference led by the minister is comprised of heads of key anti-corruption agencies – the NEITI Executive Secretary, Chairmen of EFCC, ICPC and Registrar General of CAC.
The UN Conference is expected to ratify the global anti-corruption strategy for adoption by over 150 countries attending the Conference.
