
ICSAN 2024 Conference Communiqué
COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 48TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SECRETARIES AND ADMINISTRATORS OF NIGERIA (ICSAN), HELD ON 12th OF SEPTEMBER 2024 AT THE MTN ROOFTOP EVENT HALL, 1, AWOLOWO ROAD, IKOYI, AND LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA.
- PREAMBLE
The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), is a leading professional body dedicated to protection and promotion of practice of Corporate Governance and Public Administration in Nigeria through scholarship, continued professional training, guidance and policy advocacy.
In furtherance of these ideals, at its annual general conferences, the Institute traditionally ensures a theme that is topical in the area of good governance, economic advancement, compliance and due process. At the end of these conferences recommendations are made to assist, enhance and promote good Corporate Governance and Public Administration in the public and private sector for the country’s overall socioeconomic development.
The Institute held its 2024 Annual General Conference at the MTN Rooftop Event Hall, 1 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, and Lagos State, Nigeria, on Thursday September 12th, 2024 with the theme “Reassessing the Governance Dynamics in Nigeria’s Transition to Enduring Development and National Prosperity.” The sub-themes for the conference were:
- Charting a Path to Corporate Sustainability: Re-imagining Policy Reforms for Nigeria’s Future and;
- Empowering Economic Transformation through Innovation
The Chairman of the Conference was Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, the first female Chairman of Nigeria’s Premier Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, an African Entrepreneur, Author and International Leader.
The Keynote Speaker was Professor Fabian Ajogwu, Senior Partner at Kenna Partners, a seasoned professional, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, legal author, and Nigeria’s first Professor of Corporate Governance.
The Speakers at the Conference, who are experts in their respective areas of professional calling, include Mrs. Godrey Ogbechie, the Group Executive Director of Rainoil Limited and Dr. Paul Alaje, Chief Economist and Senior Partner at SPM Professionals.
The distinguished Panelists were Professor Bayo Adaralegbe, FCIS, a Fellow of the Institute and Mrs. Oyindamola Ehiwere, FCIS, a renowned Secretarial Practice Specialist and also a Fellow of ICSAN.
Bayo Adaralegbe, a multi-skilled-professional, is an Adjunct Professor at University of Ibadan, Centre for Petroleum, Energy, Economics and Law (CPEEL) & Partner at Babalakin and Co.
Oyindamola Ehiwere, a Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Alsec Nominees Limited, currently oversees the diverse portfolio of corporate clients to which Alsec provides company secretarial services on a retainer basis, advises and assists the boards of such companies to comply with regulatory and statutory requirements.
The Conference was a hybrid event, thus availing those who were unable to attend physically the opportunity to participate virtually. Physical attendance at the venue was 188 while those who participated virtually were 55. Among those who participated physically and virtually, five persons were non-members of ICSAN (excluding the Press).
Many of the delegates were of managerial cadre in their various employments in the public and private sector. The print and electronic media were also fully represented.
The President of the Institute (ICSAN), Mrs. Funmi Ekundayo, FCIS, delivered the Welcome Address while the Chairman of the Conference, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, gave the Chairman’s Opening Remarks and declared the Conference open. This was followed by lively discussions and cross-fertilization of ideas on theme and subthemes of the Conference. The Vice-President, Mrs. Uto Ukpanah FCIS, gave the Vote of Thanks that formally ended the Conference.
From the various presentations, speeches contributions and comments made at the Conference, the following observations and recommendations were distilled:
- OBSERVATIONS
- Good governance is the bedrock of national development everywhere in the world. Research studies have not shown a strong correlation between good governance and a country’s development, there is abundant empirical evidence of this in progressive nation states in the 21st century, especially of Western and Asian countries. Businesses that have thrived, endured and survived for centuries have also been known to practice good governance.
- At its very core, good governance requires governments to have a very strong stake in the well-being and sustainability of companies that operate within their jurisdiction to ensure a high level of employment for their citizens, tax from these businesses as an important source of revenue to execute economic programs and for corporate social responsibility benefits from these businesses.
- To ensure that these companies are sustainably run and do not fail in a way that their main stakeholders-shareholders, staff and government- derive long- term values, social, environmental and economic capital needs to be actively used in these businesses. Diversity, inclusion and equity, the use of renewable energy and running businesses profitably are all important components of this.
- For businesses to deliver well for government, there must be proper support and enablement from government through right policy initiates, sound laws and regulations and strong institutions that will ensure the employment of the physically challenged, prevent discriminatory tendencies and empower our womenfolk both in businesses, in politics and in everyday life.
- In order to develop economically government must also be seen to be embracing the virtues of good governance through transparency, reduced cost of governance, strengthening its institutions for greater efficiency, tackling corruption meaningfully and addressing insecurity in the country.
- Examples of nations which have transformed from less developed or mid-level status to highly developed socioeconomic models by positive readjustments in their governance paradigm include Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Korea, Rwanda and Taiwan.
- Nigeria stands at a critical juncture in the quest for sustainable development and national prosperity. While the nation is endowed with vast natural and human resources, its governance landscape is characterized by a myriad of challenges. These include a volatile socio-political and economic environment, the need for more effective public institutions, and an economic structure in need of diversity.
- The country has faced numerous security threats, including insurgency, militia activities, attacks on rural communities, and several cases of kidnapping and banditry across the country. These security challenges have led to loss of lives, hindered economic activities, eroded the public’s trust and foreign investment drive and hampered government’s ability to protect its citizens.
- Nigeria’s human capital index (HCI) is 36%, which is well below the World Bank’s standard of 56%. The challenges affecting human capital development in Nigeria include inadequate funding of the education sector in the annual budget interruption of academic calendars, lack of equipment and facilities, mass unemployment and perennial brain drain.
- The good news is that no matter how less developed a nation is in its sociopolitical and economic life, as examples of other countries, especially in Asia shows, a positive change is feasible if its governance dynamics are powered by principled and committed leaders who muster the political will to lay the necessary foundations. These foundations are good governance principles – it is on them that the entire superstructure of a thriving and flourishing society is erected.
- Adopting good governance practices is therefore critical for Nigeria to restore public trust, promote sustainable national development, and ensure resources are allocated efficiently to meet the needs of all citizens.
3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
In light of these observations the Conference recommended as follows:
- Good governance and its virtues must be fully and quickly embraced in Nigeria in the public and private sectors in order for the country to realize its full potential in development and for Nigerian businesses to operate optimally and for the country to be a very attractive destination for much needed FDI.
- To achieve this, the government has a significant role to play as an enabler by creating and sustaining strong, efficient and transparently run public institutions, introducing laws and regulations that encourage good governance through advocacy and monitoring, including mandatory governance reports from companies at certain levels to ensure that the performance of Boards of Directors who are the directing minds of these artificial entities is measured. There is also a need for strong partnerships and collaborations between government and the private sector, especially leading professional bodies like ICSAN.
- The Nigerian economy needs to be urgently diversified from its over dependence on oil exports, especially at a time of globally energy transition. Government must continue to develop the country’s digital economy by ensuring adequate laws are in place to promote and protect innovation and intellectual property.
- As a geologically rich nation, the government has to clarify its policy on renewable energy use, a very important comportment of sustainable development and corporate sustainability that ensures a future for unborn generations. The country’s signing of the Paris Agreement of 2015 and the ambitious target not to develop and use hydrocarbon on one hand, and the apparent elaborate provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act, especially for natural gas, needs to be reconciled.
- Government has to meet international standards of not just committing adequate budgetary resources to education in order to improve the much needed quality of the country’s human capital, but also ensure that these resources are efficiently applied to improve its education and health sectors.
- Corruption, insecurity, unemployment needs to be tackled head on and the huge cost of governance should be brought down.
- Professional institutions and not-for-profit bodies must continue to collaborate closely to ensure a strong advocacy, awareness and training for good governance and its virtues and to ensure that their members and professionals both in the private sector and public sector practice good governance.
- Nigeria needs to develop a comprehensive, long-term strategic vision that engages various stakeholders in its formulation. This vision should address economic growth, social equity, environmental sustainability, and other imperatives for good governance. The nation should learn from the failures of previous initiatives like Vision 20:20 for example, which failed to meet its objective of positioning Nigeria among the top twenty economies in the world by the year 2020.
- The long-term developmental strategy of government should also include sustained political commitment and leadership to drive the vision forward. A robust implementation framework with clear timelines, accountability mechanisms, and performance indicators, adequate stakeholder engagement, including civil society, the private sector, and local communities.
- Nigeria should integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), into its national development plans and policies to ensure that development strategies are holistic and sustainable. This includes robust policy implementation, the development of mechanisms to track progress and assess the effectiveness of policies implemented, increased stakeholder engagement, inter-sectoral collaboration, and the development of target strategies that address specific challenges.
- There must be policy reforms to overhaul the current practice of sustainability practices. This should include:
- Mandatory Sustainability Reporting: which requires all large corporations to publish annual sustainability reports detailing their environmental impact, resource usage, and efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. This would promote transparency and accountability.
- Renewable Energy Mandates: Implement policies requiring businesses, particularly those in energy-intensive industries, to generate a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources.
- Waste Reduction Incentives: Offer tax incentives for companies that engage in waste reduction, recycling, and the use of biodegradable materials. Mandate companies to adopt policies that ensure minimal waste goes to landfills by recycling, reusing, or converting waste into energy.
- Carbon Tax: Introduce a carbon tax on corporations with high GHG emissions. The tax would create an economic disincentive for emitting carbon, pushing companies to adopt cleaner technologies.
- Public-Private Partnerships for Green Infrastructure: Encourage collaboration between the government and the private sector to develop green infrastructure projects, including eco- friendly transportation, smart cities, and sustainable water management systems.
- Green Energy Bonds: Launch government-backed green bonds to help fund corporate investments in renewable energy infrastructure and technologies.
- Businesses should integrate sustainable practices into their core strategies by reducing their environmental footprint, managing resources efficiently, adopting ethical labour standards, implement community and social impact programmes by supporting educational, health and infrastructure projects and comply with regulations and standards.
- Principle of diversity must be mainstreamed into governmental policies with a view to reap unique the contributions of each segment of the society for advancement of the collective interest translating into enhanced national productivity, growth and development.
- The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), (as well as other leading professional bodies in the country), should continue to provide guidance on best practices in governance and public administration, promote ethical standards, and facilitates training for stakeholders.
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Mr. Babatunde Oladipo Okuneye, ACIS
Registrar/CEO