Anti-graft war: FG to introduce beneficial ownership register

The Federal Government plans to introduce companies’ register that will show real owners of investment and businesses in the country.

The special adviser on media to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), Salihu Isah revealed this in a statement yesterday. He said the move is in line with the commitment of the present government in the fight against corruption and to foster economic development.

Isah said the AGF unveiled the plan at the National Consultative Session by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Working Group Planning Meeting on Beneficial Ownership hosted by the ministry and sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Abuja last Thursday.

Isah said the AGF expressed strong commitment by the Federal Government to ensure transparency and accountability in the business environment in Nigeria using the Open Government Partnership (OGP) mechanism. He added that, during the London Anti-Corruption Summit held on 12th May 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari made commitments to strengthen the capacity of institutions to combat corruption as well as improve the legal framework on beneficial ownership principles.

“The Minister informed participants that in the light of the 2016 Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index which places Nigeria at a lower rank of 136 out of 176 countries with a score of 28/100 and with Nigeria currently ranked as 169th in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index for 2017, it has become imperative for the government to take every possible step to address the use of corporate entities in rent seeking and corruption through the establishment of beneficial ownership transparency initiative,” he quoted the minister as saying.