SERAP Asks Buhari to Revoke Assent to CAMA or Face Legal Action

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari requesting him to urgently rescind his assent to the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020).

The group urged the president to send the legislation back to the National Assembly to address its ‘fundamental flaws’, including by deleting some provisions of the Act, particularly sections 839, 842, 843, 844 and 850 contained in Part F of the Act, and any other similar provisions.

The organisation is also urging him to instruct the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Alhaji Garba Abubakar, and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), not to implement or enforce the CAMA 2020 until the legislation is repealed by the National Assembly, as well as brought in line with the 1999 Constitution of (as amended), and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.

In the letter dated August 22, 2020, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said with the provisions, the government now has overly broad and discretionary powers to arbitrarily withdraw, cancel or revoke the certificate of any association, suspend and remove trustees, take control of finances of any association, and to merge two associations without their consent and approval of their members.