CAC calls for synergy among regulators for better compliance

Magu insists no hiding place for looters
The Director, Compliance and Litigation, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Garba Abubakar, has called for greater synergy among regulatory agencies for better compliance in financial institutions, to reduce money laundering and fraudulent activities.
Abubakar said this while delivering a keynote address on, “Implementation of Beneficial Ownership Disclosure in Nigeria,” at the second induction ceremony of the Compliance institute, Nigeria (CIN).

He said: “One thing that has been happening in Nigeria is, and most of this is motivated by pecuniary interest, everybody wants to do his thing alone, every agency wants to have a separate database; they want to engage a contractor to build a database. But most countries have dispensed with that and government has one common database. They develop everything according to the needs of the respective agencies, but here, every agency is spending hundreds of millions building database, and web-based applications.

“There’s no connection between the different agencies; one typical example is the TIN (tax identification number) registration, FIRS is issuing a tin number, when we all know a company has to be registered first, before they obtain TIN. What’s the difficulty in adopting the registration number of that company?” He asked.

Abubakar further said: “Some companies have four to five different financial statements; they pick and choose who to give it to, they choose what is convenient for them. Gentlemen, there’s a lot of work to be done, and the only way to achieve this is greater synergy among our different regulatory agencies – what the CBN does, FIRS, and the Financial Reporting Council is doing, there has to be greater synergy.”

Also speaking to The Guardian, the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, who was inducted as a fellow of the Institute, said: “This brings in about 170 corruption hunters into the fold, because they are going to be partnering with us; there will be no hiding place for the looters.”

Magu further rebutted the allegation that the Commission is being used as a witch-hunt, while also appealing to Nigerians to take the fight against corruption personal, saying: “You cannot be invited to the EFCC if you don’t have an offence committed somewhere, it is not targeted at anybody.

“As a person, you should take it personal; it is about this country, not only the administration. It is our responsibility, it is our mandate. All Nigerians should take ownership of the fight against corruption.”