The Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) has stressed the need for government partnership on legal reforms and policy directions to ensure the longevity and profitability of businesses. 
 
BRIPAN’s president, Chimezie Ihekweazu (SAN), said this at the association’s 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and 20th Anniversary and Induction ceremony which was held in Lagos recently.
 
He said the government must recognise the benefits that can be served in this area of practice, particularly business recovery.  He added that businesses fail due to different reasons, including management issues, wrong business decisions, poor business ethics and changes in legal and socioeconomic structures. He said despite this, they must know that there are opportunities within the framework of the law that can rescue the businesses and support them to ensure jobs are not lost. “If businesses fail, a lot of things fail with it, in terms of jobs and workers earnings. When they are rescued, a lot of benefits come with it, including added revenues to the government.”
 
Speaking on their plans for the new year, Ihekweazusaid they will continue to work towards improving their relevance within the society, and help stakeholders understand and take advantage of the sector’s activities, especially business rescue and reforms, which he said are not targeted at killing businesses but on saving them.
 
He added that under his leadership in the last year, the association has continued to sustain the efforts of its past leaders in delivering its core objectives. He said the association has promoted insolvency practice, education and learning as well as ensured cooperation and collaboration with other professional bodies. He urged practitioners to continue to practice the profession with good business ethics and standards while maintaining excellent professional values.
   
“Since I took over, we have trained and inducted over 500 members, with 381 inducted last week. We have continued to work towards achieving our core activities which are based on training and sustaining the good standard practice in insolvency and business recovery in Nigeria,” he said.
 
The association honoured its past presidents including the Late Prince Adesupo Adetona, a chartered accountant who pioneered insolvency practice in Nigeria and Oba Babatunde Ajayi, the 19th Akarigbo of Remoland, Ogun state. Other awardees include Dr Biodun Layonu (SAN), Otunba Olutola Senbore, Seyi Akinwunmi, Anthony Idigbe (SAN), Dele Odunowo, Sola Oyetayo and Chimezie Ihekweazu, among others.
 
Ihekweazu also revealed that the association’s journal, which will be released in the first quarter of 2025, would feature cutting-edge research, expert analysis and actionable insights into legal and insolvency matters for businesses.