In January 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Garba Abubakar as the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). About two years after, Abubakar has proven that his appointment is one of the best decisions made by the president. Why? He has transformed the commission. Unlike before, the commission is now service-oriented and efficiency-driven.
Not deterred by COVID-19 which was prevalent at the time he was appointed, Abubakar devised ingenious means to solve the problem of service delivery that the commission was battling for years.
His achievements indicate that President Buhari meticulously considered his expertise and years of service at CAC before appointing him. Since joining the commission about two decades ago, Abubakar has lived through some of the worst times at the organisation.
The issue of poor customer service, corruption, maladministration and inefficiency which were well-known to those who interfaced regularly with the agency were a reccuring. Surely, he was given a clear mandate and powers to reform the organisation by the president. His task was therefore, simple in face value, but tough in implementation.
On assuming office, the first task he carried out was the full implementation of the online business registration by Nigerians. This meant that the previous time consuming, corruption-prone and laborious Manual Registration process had to be discarded completely. It s now mandatory for those willing to register their businesses to get them done fully on the Company Registration Portal (CRP).
To ease the process of business registration, CAC came up with the merging of two separate processes of registering a business and getting tax identification numbers into one.
This has helped improve the Ease of Doing Business Index in Nigeria. This has been made possible with an effective partnership with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which issues intending company promoters their Tax Identification Numbers (TINs). In addition to this, the CAC has commenced the process of rewarding companies which complied with its specified requirements, stated in the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
In the same vein, the Commission has also commenced full closure of Manual Registration nationwide and deployment of online real time pre-Incorporation registration services to all state offices through the Company Registration Portal (CRP), to enable members of the public register their businesses from the comfort of their homes and offices within 24 hours.
The new procedure has been warmly received across board. It will be recalled that Professor Yemi Osinbajo signed a Presidential Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business in 2017 and the CAC is taking steps to achieve its full implementation with the commencement of online business registration. This also cuts out the extra costs Nigerians pay to third parties in the process of Business Name registration.
As the campaign for Open Government increases worldwide, Abubakar is quickly following this trend by institutionalizing the Open Government Policy (OGP) at CAC. Under his watch, CAC received a grant of USD 400,000 from the World Bank under the OGP Multi-Donor Trust Fund for the development and deployment of electronic register of beneficial ownership.
The budget includes funding for stakeholders engagement activities with civil society. Without effective implementation of the OGP, the CAC couldn’t have achieved a consensus as a government agency with the Civil Society in a manner that will be acceptable to all.
This was why various workshops were held across the country in partnership with concerned Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to enlighten key stakeholders and galvanise their support for the passage of the Company and Allied Matters Bill into law by the National Assembly earlier this year.
The registrar-general has also not been resting on his oars in ensuring that the commission has a befitting manpower. To this end, he has introduced Computer Based Test (CBT) for conduct of Promotion Examinations to ensure prompt release of results and enhance transparency and integrity of the process. This has effectively made CAC exthe first parastatal to introduce this efficient, transparent, and cost-effective means of human resource development.
With him, it isn’t strictly about the right manpower but how the manpower would thrive optimally. To this end, he does not take their welfare lightly, the same way he ensures that the needed working tools are promptly provided.
Under him, the commission has been recording an unprecedented surge in its revenue to the extent that money was given to the federal government as operating surplus remittance.
Pundits are nonetheless with the opinion that the best of Abubakar is yet to be seen, given his impressive start.
Tahir is Talban Bauchi
