The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) monday unveiled the unified National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG).
According to the FRC, the NCCG was introduced in accordance with Section 50 of the FRC Act, 2011, which among other things requires the directorate of Corporate Governance to develop the principles and practices of Corporate Governance applicable in Nigeria.
The unified NCCG is made up of the Code of Corporate Governance for the Private Sector. It also has the Code of Governance for Not-for-Profit entities.
According to the FRC, “the Code of Governance for the Public Sector will not be applicable immediately until an executive directive is secured from the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“This is due to the fact that the enabling laws that set up most government establishments already carry some form of governance structure that will require an umbrella legislation to unify the different provisions of those laws to synchronise with this Code,” the document added.
For the private sector, the corporate governance code is to cover entities that only render operational returns as opposed to financial returns to designated regulators; requires a clear statement of the main purpose of a corporate board to clear any ambiguity; and specification of a minimum board size, among others.
Also, the not-for-profit code among other requirements, also stipulates that the application of the principles of the code is mandatory, but the diversity of the sector necessitates individual compliance modalities.
On the other hand, the public sector code stipulates a re-statement of the compliance and performance obligations of public sector entities, among others.
