Abiodun Baiyewu Archives - Leading Reporters

Kenny Folarin, Abuja

The Executive Director, Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu has expressed concern over the subjective section (Part F) of the Amended Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, of Section 8(1)(C)which gives the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the powers to investigate the affairs of incorporated trustees and allows the government through the CAC to threaten the affairs and activities of civil society organisations.

Abiodun while speaking in Abuja on Thursday at a strategic meeting on the provision of “Part F” of the Amended Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 noted that there are so many subjective sections to the CAMA and this means that the CAC can at anytime step in as long as politically exposed people are not happy with the activities of civil society organizations.

Abiodun noted that civil society are duty bound to collectively think about these issues and challenge them headlong.

According to the Act, Section 839, which vests the CAC with the powers to suspend the trustees of an association and appoint interim managers to run its affairs under the Commission’s supervision, “This is a flagrant attempt by the government to stifle the voices of civil society organisations”. Abiodun posited.

Meanwhile, she advised that as the 2023 elections approaches, civil society must begin to ask political aspirants questions on what will become of the shrinking civic space and who will build a society where the voices of the society can be heard rather than surpressd.

Meanwhile, Professor of Practice in International Human Rights, Chidi Odinkalu stated that there has been a concerted, consistent and deliberate effort by the government to incapacitate civil society, render it so incapable that they do not become a force and alternative to political voices.

Explaining, Chidi said “So if we are in a situation where the political opposition is weak, the citizens are mostly popularized and improvised and therefore there concern is more about what they eat and the civil space of an active organized civic sector is itself endangered, organized labour is discredited and bereft of money, what we have is an authoritarian state”.

He opined that civil society needs to be more conscious, more up-to-date and articulate a national agenda that is neither partisan nor parochial.

“The first thing that we need to do is to create a Nigerian Civil Society identity that transcends all these polarities and make us to confront the dangers that civil society faces because for me, we have got to recognize the issue that matters to our people.

“We have got to retrace our steps and do the job of advocating for a better society, involves personal credibility, institution credibility, connected to ideal if we want a Nigeria that can be trusted”. He added.

The Executive Director, Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu has expressed worry over lapses in regulations and unaccounted revenue experienced in the mining sector.

Abiodun while speaking in Abuja on Wednesday at a stakeholders workshop on improving fiscal transparency in Nigeria’s mining sector organized by Global Rights in partnership with the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI called for transparency in the sector and charged the federal government to execute every project in the pipeline, intensify efforts on going reforms, and ensure that the sector is resuscitated.

According to her, “With more than 40 minerals in commercial quantities thrown across the country paradoxically, the solid mineral sector contributes less than one percent of our national GDP, this is worrisome.

“More than 80 percent of the sector particular in artisanal mining is unregulated and its revenue unaccounted for. We live with the environmental, security and socio-economic consequences of lax oversight and worst still our children will pay the price.

“The big question that we are taking a pause to answer is are we connecting the right dots for the fulfilment of Nigeria’s economic growth and development through solid mineral development. Is our mining road map leading us in the right direction?

Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi while delivering his keynote address on the topic, “The Roles of States in Enhancing Transparency and Fiscal Justice in the Nigeria’s Mining Sector,” said one of the challenges confronting Nigeria is the operations of illegal miners.

He said, “According to report, the Nigerian government may have lost trillions in revenue, owing to illegal practices and corrupt activities of companies operating in the mining sector in Nigeria.

“Many schemes through which some companies or miners have defrauded the Nigerian government include non-remittance of revenues, unlicensed mining and evasion of taxes, illegal practices, and incessant smuggling of solid minerals out of the country.

“The need to strengthen the solid minerals sector for improved revenue generation, job creation, and overall value addition, cannot be overemphasized. The devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic and dwindling oil prices has forced a strategic focus on other sectors considered as having high growth prospects, particularly the mineral resources, which had been neglected for decades.”

He assured that the federal government is not going to sleep on ensuring the mining sector is resuscitated and jobs, employment opportunities are created for youths.

In his remarks, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, bemoaned the amount of gold leaving the country, explaining that more efforts is needed to leverage on adding value locally.

“Gold leaves the country, after that we loose billions of naira. We don’t know the exact figure because all these are illegal activities and you cannot measure those things. Yes, people do smuggle gold out illegally. We are making a lot of efforts to stop that. Because our border is so vast. We are going beyond the Ministry itself to monitor that.

“The whole idea is to add value to the minerals. We don’t want to go the route of the oil and gas where we just export crude oil and bring in the refined products. We want to add value locally. Let people add value, we will be able to create jobs, create wealth and create revenue for government.

“What we are promoting essentially is value addition locally. It is not just for us to mine, it is for us to process locally, retain the jobs, retain the value in Nigeria and that’s what the Ministry is pursuing which is also in line with the African Mining Vision,” he said.

Abiodun Baiyewu

Global Rights Fumes Over Subjective Sections of Amended CAMA Act 2020

Global Rights Lament Lapses On Regulations, Revenue in Mining Sector