The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (COCSON) has commended the former Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAS), Garba Abubakar over the reforms he introduced into the Commission.
The National President of COCSON, Comrade Ikechukwu Chukwunyere gave the commendation in a press statement on Friday, while reacting to the public outright against the former CAC Registrar General.
Recalled that President Bola Tinubu appointed Hussani Magaji as the new director-general and CEO of CAC, thereby putting an end to Abubakar’s nearly four years in office. The announcement elicited euphoric reactions in the headquarters of the CAC in Abuja on Monday where members of staff gathered to celebrate Abubakar’s exit, describing him as a vicious tyrant”.
In his reaction, Comrade Chukwunyere described Abubakar as a diligent, persuasive and passionate man who implemented complex reforms at the CAC in a short time.
He said the CAC under the leadership of Garba Abubakar was instrumental in pushing for the digitalization of the operations of the commission.
According to him, Mr. Abubakar was able to make the CAC “paperless” by “embracing technology to remove bottlenecks.
See full text below:
A PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE LEADERSHIP OF COCSON ON THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FORMER REGISTRAR GENERAL OF THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), GARBA ABUBAKAR “
Following the public euphoric that greeted the sack of the Registrar General of the Cooperate Affairs Communication (CAC), Garba Abubakar and the outright condemnation of his personality, The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (COCSON) conducted a review of his tenure and came up with the following findings:
Garba Abubakar deserves commendation for a lot of the reforms introduced to the commission during his tenure as the Registrar General of CAC.
Despite some noticeable challenges that bedeviled the operations of the Commission, Nigerians must not loose sight of the real gains of the Commission under the administration of Garba Abubakar
The CAC under the leadership of Garba Abubakar was instrumental in pushing for the digitalization of the operations of the commission.
Abubakar tenure, was able to make the CAC “paperless” by “embracing technology to remove bottlenecks.
He was a professional, dignified and responsive” man who “must have disappointed those who wanted business as usual”.
Garba Abubakar’s proven track records speaks volumes when he was a former head of compliance at CAC. It’s a common knowledge that Audit and Compliance personnel are not generally loved in public and private settings because their mindset is to plug loopholes and prevent pilferage.
His reforms in the CAC has enable company’s registration process to be seamless. Companies registration, reservation of business names, incorporation, retrieving of documents are now done online and payment for the registration processes are being paid via Remita gateway.
When the new CAMA Act was passed, CAC under the leadership of Garba Abubakar had to make some changes to its system immediately to reflect the new law. Directorship, TIN on certificates, integration with NIN, Passports, Beneficial ownership, registration of Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Partnerships, etc. Disclosure of Beneficial ownership details, introduction of electronic search, and certified extracts. Even their customer care center has become digitized. Complaints were tracked with support ID. All these feat were made possible courtesy of his technological-driven approach.
Garba Abubakar was a diligent, persuasive and passionate man who implemented these complex reforms at the CAC in a short time.
As part of his ground breaking records, Garba Abubakar is the First Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to declare an operating surplus of 10bn to the Federal Government for the first time, coming from a N6bn liability position and near bankruptcy.
We therefore implore Nigerians to appreciate a worthy man who has done so much for this country. We should understand that it is only corrupt people who could not loot anymore from CAC that are rejoicing from Abubakar’s exit.
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria (COCSON) hereby pass a VOTE OF CONFIDENCE on GARBA ABUBAKAR as an accomplished REGISTRAR GENERAL.
Posterity will certainly judge us all for our good and bad.