Senate Held Public Hearing on CAMA Amendment Bill

A public hearing on the Bill seeking an amendment to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020 to strengthen the operations of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Nigeria was conducted on Monday by the Senate Committees on Trade and Investment, Diaspora and the NGOs.

The Bill, sponsored by the Senator representing Kwara Central, Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe had scaled second reading on February 10, 2022, and was subsequently referred to the Joint Committees on Trade and Investment, Diaspora and NGO for public hearing.

Addressing the stakeholders at a well-attended public hearing, Dr Oloriegbe explained that the media is a critical factor in upholding the tenets of democracy, thereby likening it to a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) which he said provides service that is essentially complementary to the discharge of oversight responsibility of the legislators.

He further explained how the media is a critical part of any democracy; as well as part of Civil Society Groups or Non-governmental Organizations; all of which contribute to complementing the legislature to perform the oversight of holding all the three arms of government accountable.

He also explained that NGOs, Civil Society Groups and Community-Based Organizations combined have a role to play in terms of effecting accountability and that, they contribute immensely to critical aspects of human endeavours, be it health, education, social welfare, and many other aspects.

Without the existence of this group of important organizations, there would have been a wide gap in the society, because they fill the gaps that the government is unable to fill, particularly in the social sectors.

Speaking further, the lawmaker said the need for the amendment to the Bill stemmed from the concerns raised by the CSOs who expressed displeasure over certain provisions that constitute a hindrance to their abilities to realize their objectives.

While highlighting the processes that led to the amendment of the CAMA Act 2020, Sen. Oloriegbe emphasized how the CSOs group raised genuine concerns on certain extensive provisions in the Act that infringes on their operation as they support the government to improve socio-economic development in Nigeria.

The amendment Bill, hence, was necessary to address the concerns raised. The public hearing was organized by the Joint Committees to enrich the provisions of the Bill through the submissions from the various stakeholders present.

Adapted from the Official Twitter Handle of Dist. Sen. Oloriegbe, Chairman Senate Committee on Health