ICSAN holds successful 2020 Company Secretaries and Registrars’ Forum
The Institute held the 2020 Company Secretaries and Registrars’ Forum on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at the MUSON Centre, Onikan,, Lagos.
The Forum aimed at exposing participants to modern day practices and practical solution to problems on company secretarial practices, the capital market and related issues. It was an interactive programme, facilitated by seasoned technocrats and experienced practitioners.
The theme of the Forum was “Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance 2018: The Role of Company Secretaries and Capital Market Stakeholders”
The Chairman of the occasion was the Chief Executive Officer of Chapel Hill Denham, Mr. Bolaji Balogun, while the Keynote Speaker was the Executive Director, Regulations, The Nigerian Stock Exchange, (NSE), Ms Tinuade Awe, A panel of three experienced discussants, drawn from diverse backgrounds, provided interesting perspectives to the discourse. These resource persons comprised the Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, (PSAN), Mr. Boniface Okezie; the Chief Executive Officer, Greenwich Registrars & Data Solutions Limited, Mrs. Oby Chiki-Ijegbulem, and the Company Secretary/Legal Adviser of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Uaboi Agbebaku, FCIS.
The President of the Institute, Mr. Bode Ayeku, FCIS, the Honorary Treasurer, Mr. Francis Olawale, FCIS, the Registrar, Mrs. Taiwo Olusesi, FCIS; Members of the Institute, Company Secretaries of various public companies as well as Registrars from reputable registrar services firms and organisations were all in attendance.
The Participants, essentially comprising Company Secretaries of major Public Limited Companies in Nigeria and notable Registrars, expressed delight for the quality of the programme, stressing they enjoyed all the presentations.
A four-page Communique which contains a number of useful recommendations to many stakeholders were issued at the end of the Forum.
Practitioners Event enriches participants’ knowledge on practice start-up
The Institute held her 2020 Governance Practitioners Event on February 26, 2019 at the MAN House, No 77 Obafemi Awolowo Way, Ikeja Lagos.
The Governance Practitioners Event was conceived to equip the young Members as a well other members of the Institute who wished to set up their own practice firms with knowledge on how to go about it.
The theme of the event was “Setting up a Practice as a Chartered Secretary”
There were also subthemes to the main theme handled by different Speakers. The first subtheme was “Thinking Through Your Vision” and was delivered the Research Associate, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, by Mrs. Faith A. Iyoha. The second subtheme entitled “ABC Of Setting Up a Practice Firm: How to Plan Your Office” was delivered by the Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the Institute, Mr. Francis Olawale, FCIS.
The Speaker for the third subtheme “How to Market Your Business- How to Grow Your Clientele” was Mr. Kunle Obebe FCIS, while the fourth lecture entitled “Introduction to the Code of Best Practice Issued by ICSAN” was delivered by a Fellow of the Institute, Mr. Adeoye Joshua, FCIS.
The Event recorded massive attendance participants. The President of the Institute, Mr. Bode Ayeku FCIS, was represented by the Vice-President, Mr. Taiwo Owokalade, FCIS.
Some of the participant who spoke with ICSAN News correspondent expressed delight for the quantum of knowledge impacted on them during the one-day programme.
“I was really enriched by this programme and I am happy I attended this programme” said one of the participants. The Event was successful in terms of attendance, quality of paper delivery by the Facilitators and the contributions by both the Speakers and the participants which substantially enriched the programme.
ICSAN President briefs Press on benefits of Corporate Governance
Adherence to the principle of Corporate Governance in both the private and public sectors will go a long way in assisting Nigeria to surmount her myriad problems and pave way for her growth and socio-economic development.
This was disclosed by the President of the Institute, Mr. Bode Ayeku, FCIS, during a Press Conference held at the National Secretariat of the Institute in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos on Wednesday, February 19, 2020.
The media stables which were represented at the briefing included the Punch, the Guardian, Vanguard, News Agency of Nigeria and Eko 89.7 FM Radio Station.
The ICSAN boss harped on the numerous benefits accruable from entrenching sound governance principles in both the private and public sectors, stressing that there were unquantifiable benefits in so doing.
Ayeku said “In every economy, we have both the private and the public sectors. It is only when both sectors are doing things right that the country can achieve the desired economic development.
“We are looking at both sectors so that at the end of the day, we can have the desired improvement. We should be regulated by the same rules, irrespective of which sector you belong, either the private or public sector.
“That is why it is interesting and important for the institute to continue to embark on this advocacy to let all stakeholders, whether in the public or private sector know that we must be part of this particular initiative by participating actively.
“Active participation means that we not only know about what is good. You must practise what is good because it is when you practise what is good that you are contributing meaningfully to the development of the economy, of the nation and also the sector that we belong to.”
The President also spoke on the reason the Institute was planning to change her name. He said the need to change the name was informed by the need to change the wrong perception some people have about the Institute especially in relation to the word “Secretaries” in the Institute’s name.
He added that the name confused some people into thinking that the members of the Institute were front desk secretaries, stenographers and confidential secretaries.
He further added that the change of name was also necessitated by the trend across the globe with many institutes similar to ICSAN changing their names to reflect the changing face of the Chartered Secretaryship profession which now accommodates a number of disciplines in the broad Corporate Governance field.
Lagos Chapter holds memorable AGM
The Lagos Chapter of the Institute held her Annual General Meeting on March 12, 2020 at the Institute’s national Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
The outgoing Executive Committee of the Chapter, led by the Chairman, Mr. Francis Olawale laid the accounts of the Chapter for the year ended December 31st December 2019 before the members.
The accounts as audited by the external auditors, were adjudged to be prepared according to the best accounting standards while the auditors concluded that the accounts reflected the “true and fair” financial position of the Chapter for the time under consideration.
Recounting the achievements during his tenure, Olawale said his administration was able to convert the Chapter’s financial statements to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) compliant format.
He added “Also, we created an editorial board to enhance better production of flagship magazine. We also improved in the area of funding and carried out several advocacy and awareness programmes for the institute.”
Olawale thanked the members of the Chapter for the support given to him for the past two-years. He urged the members to support the incoming administration so it would consolidate on the gains the Chapter had registered.
The election of the new members of the EXCO that would steer the affairs of the Chapter for the next two years was also held.
In consonance with the new ICSAN Policy, the office of the Chairman was not contested for as the incumbent Vice Chairman automatically moved into the office of the Chairman. Thus, the incumbent Vice-Chairman, Mrs. Nkechi Anyimah, FCIS became the new Chairman-Designate.
The following were the candidates who won the election into the various offices:
| 1 | Alaba Ekundayo, FCIS | Vice-Chairman |
| 2 | Oladayo Akinlemibola, ACIS | Publicity Secretary |
| 3 | Adeyemi Oyindamola, FCIS | Assistant Financial Secretary |
| 4 | Yetunde Emmanuel, ACIS | Mobilisation Secretary |
| 5 | Oyeyimika Ketiku, ACIS | Hon. Secretary |
| 6 | Folasade Akinmusire, FCIS | Treasurer |
| 7 | Chinwe Onubogu, FCIS | Financial Secretary |
| 8 | Adedoyin Adeniji, FCIS | Social Secretary |
| 9 | Tolulope Abimbolu, ACIS | Assistant Mobilisation Secretary |
Lagos Investiture of new Chairman to hold via zoom
The much-awaited investiture of the new Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter, Mrs. Nkechi Anyimah, FCIS and members of her Executive Committee, scheduled to hold on April 2, 2020 would still hold as scheduled but in a modified form through Zoom online platform.
This was disclosed in a release on Friday March 27, 2020 by the Chairman-Designate, Mrs. Anymah.
According to the release, the modification from the physical form of investiture to the online form was necessitated by the rampaging COVID 19 which has rendered physical meeting of a large crowd unhealthy and dangerous.
She however added that only the formal aspect of the swearing-in would take place online on April 2, 2020, stressing that the ceremonial aspect of the investiture would hold at a date to be later announced.
Anyimah stated “As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, so we need to innovate as a Chapter, to continue to add value to the lives of our members, even through this period of uncertainty and distress.
“As many of us know, our formal tenure as a new Exco, in accordance with the unified calendar of all chapters, commences from the 1st of April, 2020 and our Investiture, in this regard, had been scheduled for Thursday, 2nd April, 2020 by 11am.
“In order not to create a vacuum and sleep on our collective responsibilities, as the Chapter needs us now more than ever, we would be innovative by embracing modern technology on remote and virtual meetings, to carry out our assignments and kick off our mandate.”
She further added, “In this regard, our Investiture as scheduled for Thursday, 2nd April, 2020 would be carried out via zoom video app, which would involve the swearing in ceremony *only*, of all the Excos and a member of the Nigerian Bar, would officially swear us into office, as the next Exco of the Chapter. This is the main investiture /swearing-in event.
“The ceremonial aspect of the Investiture, which had earlier been arranged and organized, would be postponed and the date communicated to the members as soon as it is feasible. This would mark off the first public event of the Chapter for the tenure, and we would appreciate key learning points and reminders as governance professionals from our key note speaker. We look forward to a great outing for us all.”
New Exco emerges in Oyo State Chapter
The Oyo State Chapter of the Institute held her 2020 Annual General Meeting on February 8, 2020 at the Chapter’s office in Ibadan during which the election of the new Executive Committee, that will steer the affairs of the Chapter for the next two years, was held.
The following offices were vacant for the election, viz, Vice-Chairman, General-Secretary, Assistant General-Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, Financial Secretary. Each of these offices had one candidate each vying for it. Elections were nonetheless still conducted and the candidates for each of the offices were popularly elected.
In consonance with the ICSAN policy on succession, the office of the Chairman was not contested as the current Vice-Chairman, Mr. Seyi Abiodun, automatically succeeded to the office.
Thus, the full list of the newly elected EXCO of the Oyo State Chapter (together with the office of the Chairman to which the incumbent Vice-Chairman has succeeded) is as follows:
| S/N | OFFICES | CANDIDATES |
| 1 | Chairman | Mr. Seyi Abiodun |
| 2 | Vice-Chairman | Mr. Ilori Samson Adekunle |
| 3 | General-Secretary | Pastor Sunday Adegoke |
| 4 | Assistant General-Secretary | Mr. Ola Olajide |
| 5 | Treasurer | Dr. Bolaji Adegoke |
| 6 | Public Relations Officer | Mr. M.B. Fakayode |
| 7 | Financial Secretary | Mr. Yusuf Oladapo |
This new EXCO will be sworn-in at a date to be later announced in March 2020.
Abuja Chapter gets new Chairman, EXCO Members
A new Executive has emerged for the Abuja Chapter of the Institute. The new Chairman is now Mrs. Bolaji Gabari. She was the former Vice-Chairman who automatically succeeded to the position of the Chairman in accordance with the ICSAN new Policy on succession.
Four other persons however vied for the four of the six offices declared vacant by the Chapter’s Electoral Committee and they were declared unopposed as there were no candidates contesting against them.
The four persons were Mr. Adedeji Adebiyi who vied for the office of the Vice- Chairman, Mrs. Gloria Odita (Secretary), Mr. Olaniyan Olawole (Assistant Secretary) and Ms Nzomiwu Jennifer (Social/Publicity Secretary)
The offices of the Treasurer and Financial Secretary had no one vying for them, thus the Electoral Committee declared that the incoming Executives would conduct bye elections to fill them.
The list of the new Executive Committee to lead the affairs of the Chapter for the next two years is as shown below:
| S/N | NAMES | OFFICES |
| 1 | . Bolaji Gabari | Chairman |
| 2 | Adedeji Adebiyi | Vice-Chairman |
| 3 | Gloria Odita | Secretary |
| 4 | Olaniyan Olawole | Assistant Secretary |
| 5 | Nzomiwu Jennifer | Social/ Publicity Secretary |
COVID 19: FG orders 14-day Cessation of Movement in Lagos, Ogun, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday announced the cessation of movement in Lagos State, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Ogun State in an effort to containing the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.
In a nationwide broadcast, the President Buhari : “Based on the advice of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), I am directing the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days with effect from 11:00 p.m. on Monday, March 30, 2020. This restriction will also apply to Ogun State due to its close proximity to Lagos and the high traffic between the two states.
“All citizens in these areas are to stay in their homes. Travel to or from other states should be postponed. All businesses and offices within these locations should be fully closed during this period.”
However, the President exempted hospitals and medical establishments as well as organizations in healthcare-related manufacturing and distribution from the restriction.
Also exempted are food processing, distribution and retail companies; petroleum distribution and retail entities; power generation, transmission and distribution companies; and private security companies.
“Although these establishments are exempted, access will be restricted and monitored. Workers in telecommunication companies, broadcasters, print and electronic media staff, who can prove they are unable to work from home are also exempted.” said the President.
The President further disclosed that the containment period will be used to identify, trace and isolate all individuals that have come into contact with confirmed cases.
