Finance Minister says secrecy in company ownership threat to economic growth.
Written by News Room on November 11, 2021
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said secrecy in the ownership of companies in the country remained a threat to economic growth linking it to money laundering and corruption.
Ahmed, represented by Minister of State Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, at the official launch of global Opening Extractives in Nigeria, in Abuja, said Nigeria had taken concrete steps through the opening of Beneficial Ownership Register by the NEITI and the amendment to Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).
According to the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Nigeria and other developing countries record losses in the region of 1 trillion dollars yearly due to secret ownership of companies, especially in the oil, gas and mining sectors.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, said while the Nigerian Oil and Gas Asset Beneficial Ownership Register (NOGABOR) portal has been developed by and is life, the commission would engage oil and companies to ensure mandatory compliance.
Komolafe insisted that beneficial ownership transparency remained critical to ensuring the revenue generated from natural resources provides maximum benefit to every Nigerian.
He stated that the commission would be transparent, cost-efficient, safe, and sustainable towards the management of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources.
Amen John Kantiyok
