Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has entered into a partnership with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), with a proposal to bring all companies under the ACCI shelter.

Speaking on Monday in Abuja while on a courtesy visit to CAC, the President of ACCI, Dr Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, said the move will sanitise the economy and increase oversight on activities of companies in Nigeria.

He said: “We are here to seek partnership on a major campaign we are embarking on- Making all companies in Nigeria members of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

“This policy exists in Europe, Middle East and South Asia because it has a lot of advantages.

“We have prepared a concept note that articulates our proposals, its merits and process of implementation. In summary, however, we seek a two-staged implementation process, the first being optional request for companies to indicate the Chamber of their choice during registration with CAC. And the second is legislation to make Chamber membership mandatory.

“Advantages of our proposal are many, namely: Membership of the Chamber allows for post-registration monitoring and partnering; It is easier for government to implement financial interventions for the companies as Chamber normally stands as guarantor.

“It helps the government to carry out inclusive consultation since the companies belong to one chamber or the other; It is easy for the tax authority to expand the tax base and enforce tax compliance; It is easy for company regulatory authority like CAC to verify and monitor registered companies since they belong to one Chamber or the other.

“It is easy for companies’ registration authority like CAC to get a regular annual report from companies since they belong to one Chamber or other; It is easy for export facilitating agency to trace and track companies involved in export businesses and convenient for international investors to verify the credibility of potential local partners,” he said.

According to a statement by Olayemi John-Mensah, the CAC Registrar General, Alhaji Garba Abubakar while responding described the proposal as “a timely move from the Chamber which he noted l will strengthen the mandate of CAC and facilitate business operations in Nigeria.

Abubakar said that the post-registration monitoring of companies in Nigeria is a major challenge to the CAC, revealing that many registered companies mostly abandoned their statutory responsibilities once they receive their certificates of registration.

He admitted that the proposal will create a common platform through which CAC can better coordinate and relate with registered companies especially as many of them hardly file returns 20 or even 30 years after registration.

“We will look into it and see how we can integrate it in our regulations through persuasive means at the beginning by making them understand the benefits of registering with Chamber of Commerce.

“The inclusion in regulations will be a major movement in making the proposal a reality.”

The Registrar-General said that CAC was ready for this partnership which he described as mutually beneficial and in the best interest of the country.