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| President Muhammadu Buhari greets Pastor Enoch Adeboye |
The head of the Financial
Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRC, Jim Obazee, has been sacked by President
Muhammadu Buhari.
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Former Executive
Secretary, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Mr Jim Obazee
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Mr.
Obazee’s sack comes about 48 hours after implementation of his agency’s law led
to the exit of Nigeria’s most influential Christian cleric, Enoch Adeboye.
Mr.
Adeboye resigned as the general overseer of the Redeemed Church in Nigeria on
Saturday, but retained oversight of the global arm of the church.
The
FRC rule is established by the Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria, Act No 6,
2011.
The
council, which is under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Industry,
Trade and Investment, is responsible for, among others, developing and
publishing accounting and financial reporting standards to be observed in the
preparation of financial statements of public entities in Nigeria and for
related matters.
The
Governance Code of 2016 put in place by the agency to implement the Act
encompasses three sectors: the private, the public and not-for-profit.
It
is the not-for-profit sector, sometimes referred to as the Benevolent Sector,
the Third Sector or the Civil Society Sector, that religious bodies fall under.
Section
9.1. of the code states that “The Founder or Leader of a NFPO occupies a
special position in the Organization and is committed to the success and
longevity of the NFPO.”
Accordingly,
a founder or leader should not take on too many responsibilities in the organization
or have an indefinite term in the running of the organization, and is expected
to not stay in office for more than 20 years.
On
the day Mr. Adeboye’s exit was announced by the church, the cleric criticized
the meddling of government in church matters.
“The
government has been showing increasing interest in church affairs.
Unfortunately, for us in RCCG, it might not be very helpful,” he was quoted as
saying on Saturday by the Tribune Newspapers during a church service.
President
Buhari announced the sack of the FRC boss in a statement by his spokesperson,
Garba Shehu.
Mr.
Obazee is to be replaced by Daniel Asapokhai while a new board, headed by
Adedotun Sulaiman was also constituted for the agency.
No
official reason was given for Mr. Obazee’s sack
READ
MR. SHEHU’S FULL STATEMENT BELOW:
President
Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate removal and the replacement of the
Executive Secretary and the reconstitution of the board of the Financial
Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRN). He has appointed a Chairman and a new
Executive Secretary for the council.
The
new Council as approved by the President has Adedotun Sulaiman, MFR, as
Chairman.
Mr.
Sulaiman was a former Managing Partner/Director of Arthur Anderson and later,
Accenture. He is a Chartered Accountant and a product of the University of
Lagos and Harvard Business School.
The
President has also approved the appointment of Daniel Asapokhai as the
Executive Secretary of the Council.
Mr.
Asapokhai is a partner and a Financial Reporting Specialist at the PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC), Nigeria.
He
is a product of the University of Lagos and the University of Pretoria.
President
Muhammadu Buhari has also instructed the Minister of Industry, Trade, and
Investment to invite the nineteen ministries, departments and agencies of the
Federal Government and private sector organizations specified in the FRC Act to
nominate members of the board of the council.
Nigeria Suspends
Law That Caused Exit Of Adeboye As RCCG National Leader
PREMIUM
TIMES reports that the Nigerian government has suspended a Corporate Governance
Code issued by the country’s Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRC.
The
Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechuckwu Enelamah, made the
disclosure in a statement on Monday, after PREMIUM TIMES reported President
Muhammadu Buhari’s sack of the Executive Secretary of FRC, Jim Obazee.
Mr.
Obazee’s sack followed exit of Enoch Adeboye as the Nigerian overseer of
Redeemed Christian Church of God in compliance with the suspended FRC
governance code for not-for-profit organizations, including civil society and
religious organizations.
Mr.
Adeboye, arguably Nigeria’s most influential Christian cleric, had on Saturday
complained about the government’s interest in Church activities.
The
Governance Code sought to provide financial reporting, transparency and accountability
standards for not-for-profit organizations.
Among
others, it provided that founders or leaders of not-for-profit organizations
would not head governance of their organizations for more than 20 years, and
could not also pass baton to their family members.
While
the code received positive reactions by people who consider it necessary to
ensure accountability, it also suffered knocks by those expressing concerns it
was targeting faith organizations, especially the Church.
In
his statement, the minister said the code stood suspended pending its review
and consultation with stakeholders.
Mr. Enelamah reassured of Nigeria’s commitment to enhancing market and ease of doing business in the country.
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