- No hiding place for incompetent RG and inefficient CAC says NBA President
By Lillian Okenwa
“If A. G. Abubakar and the CAC would not like us to mention the inefficiencies at the CAC, it’s not going to happen.” – Olumide Akpata
The Registrar General of Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Alhaji Garba Abubakar on Wednesday declined to present the Commission’s Annual Statutory Report at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the ongoing Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
He sent a letter notifying NBA that he will not be presenting the statutory report. Last year when the conference was held via zoom due to Covid-19, he failed to present the Annual Statutory Report. However, most glitches that occurred last year were however blamed on Covid-19.
A. G. Abubakar who has been in recent times enmeshed in several controversies was alleged to have declined the customary presentation of the Commission’s report on the grounds that CAC cannot condescend to submit its statutory report to a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) registered by the Commission.
Expressing displeasure over Abubakar’s absence and CAC’s inability to present the statutory report, NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata said: If A. G. Abubakar and the CAC would not like us to mention the inefficiencies at the CAC, it’s not going to happen. If they’re not efficient, we’ll call them out.”
This will be the second time in the Commission’s history that its Annual Statutory Report would not be presented at the NBA AGC where members of the Bar ask questions and demands explanations.
The Statutory Report session of NBA AGC is the forum where heads of some federal government agencies render an account of their stewardship to delegates. Abinitio the heads of agencies are appointed by the government on account of their membership in the legal profession.
Consequently, the NBA, being the umbrella body for the legal profession in Nigeria, usually demands this kind of report in line with the principle of transparency and public accountability —a core pillar to rule of law.
The RG’s absence from delivering the Commission’s Statutory Report for the year suggests a successful evasion of public accountability of his alleged actions over which members had previously lodged formal complaints to NBA but with no meaningful result. Many petitioners have been waiting for this opportunity to demand explanations. It would be recalled that on account of his alleged mal-administration and ill-treatment of Lawyers there were several public demonstrations by Lawyers as well as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja within his less than 2-year tenure.
Over the years all the Directors who are Lawyers attended as Management Team to provide answers to issues raised by members of the Bar during the AGM. This time only the Director of Commission Secretariat, Justine Nidiya B, who submitted a report yesterday on Ease of Doing Business, a Deputy Director, and an Assistant Director were the top management staff from CAC. They were accredited only yesterday for the event.
Meanwhile other Statutory bodies like the Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal studies (NIALS), Council of Legal Education, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC, Legal Aid Council have submitted Annual Reports to the NBA during its Annual General Conferences over the Years and continue to. These agencies are also led by Lawyers Besides NBA is on the Board of CAC by Law.
Garba Abubakar, a 1988 law graduate of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria worked as a Senior Officer at NICON Insurance after his Call to Bar. Thereafter, he was engaged at CAC as Principal Manager in 2005. In 2009, he was made a Special Assistant to Alhaji Bello Mahmud the then RG of CAC. He became a Director in 2017 at the tail end of Bello Mahmud’s tenure.
Speaking with Law & Society, a CAC insider said: “In the Commission where the Organisation is endowed with brilliant legal minds including some with Ph.D. in Law, he resorts to acts of harassment and intimidation borne out of hate and envy. Even as the Special Assistant to the then RG his impunity was not hidden, as most of his actions then always caused rifts between the Staff Union and the Bello Mahmud administration.
“One of such rifts led to the closure of Companies Registry in Nigeria for 12 working days in 2017, a first in the history of the Commission. Most Staffs of the Commission are therefore not totally surprised at how he has been carrying on as RG, as the dictatorial traits were noticed during his 8 years as Special Assistant.
“During the two years, Acting tenure of Lady Azuka Azinge Abubakar hardly attended Management meetings. He was all along busy plotting the fall of Lady Azinge. As soon as Lady Azinge was removed in an unfashionable manner similar to the unceremonial removal of CJN, Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, Hajiya Saratu Mama Shafi’i , being the most senior director then, acted for two weeks before A G Abubakar was appointed RG.
“Amongst the Directors in the Commission, he was the most junior and the most unqualified to hold the Office by all criteria. It is not therefore surprising that he refused to submit the Annual Statutory Report at the ongoing NBA AGC in Port Harcourt. Is Abubakar bigger than the NBA? Only time will tell.”
Meanwhile, a group of Concerned Citizens in a statement titled “A CLARION CALL FOR MEMBERS OF CONSCIENCE TO SAVE THE LAW PROFESSION FROM DISREPUTE tabled some of their grievances against the RG. They include:
“1. Illegal and discriminatory banning of Lawyers and the general public from gaining access to CAC premises to obtain services, but rather subjecting them to poor, epileptic and incomplete online services thereby crippling corporate practice and governance in the country;
“2. Public exhibition of incompetence in implementation of the new CAMA 2020 when he publicly announced the registration of a law firm as a Limited Liability Partnership, in clear contravention of CAMA, Legal Practitioners Act (LPA) and Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC);
“3. Subjugation of CAC staff in contravention of Nigerian labour laws, practices, and conventions.”
The statement made available to Law & Society, and signed by one Mohammed Bello further disclosed that: “He remains conceited and defiant to wisdom calls, and advice, but would rather spend government resources on hype and falsehood including the filing of vexatious court cases and giving false evidence in defence of genuine complaint against him. See the twin cases CAC vs. AUPCTRE and AUPCTRE vs CAC Unreported, suit nos. NICN/ABJ/45 2021 NICN/ABJ/62/2021 respectively.
“It is high time for NBA to stop handling the impunity of this member with kid gloves. Decisive action must be taken and the time is now. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands as a stitch in time saves nine. Thank you.”
