Date: November 30, 2023 11:55 am
The Chairman of Leadway Pension PFA Limited, Mr Olusegun Aganga, has stated that corporate governance is a catalyst for economic transformation.
Aganga said this at the 2023 Annual Directors’ Conference Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria, themed “Driving Nigeria’s Economic Transformation and Diversification: The Role of Corporate Governance”, in Abuja on Thursday.
He said, “Every successive government in Nigeria has talked about the need to transform and diversify our economy for decades, but none has identified corporate governance as a major catalyst for driving that transformation.
“And there is no better time than now to draw the attention of the nation and managers of the economy to this significant omission.”
According to Aganga, the country’s economy is relatively small, not inclusive and growing at a slower pace.
“It has all the features of a weak economy: import-dependent, weak, and unstable macroeconomic environment, export of primary products without value addition, high and unsustainable level of debt servicing cost to national revenue, fall in real wages, high dependency on foreign earnings without building productive capacity, high incidence of poverty, high rate of unemployment, high rate of emigration of skilled professionals, weak governance structure and prevalence of insecurity.
“It is not because we do not have economic plans or policies to diversify and transform our economy. The simple answer is the lack of continuity and extremely poor quality of implementation of economic plans and policies.
“We are long on plans and policies but short on implementation. And why is that so? It is because our institutions, particularly the economic institutions, are weak or do not exist,” he maintained.
Also, the President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CIoD Nigeria, Tijjani Borodo, said, “We are committed to establishing and maintaining connections among business leaders at the highest levels and collaborating with the government to create and foster business-friendly policies, particularly in the face of challenging circumstances.”
He highlighted the crucial role that corporate governance plays in advancing economic growth and development.
Borodo acknowledged the rapidly evolving digital landscape and its impact on the economic future of the country.
“The digital age is upon us, and Nigeria is no exception to the profound changes it brings.
“Corporate governance practices must adapt to the new realities of the digital landscape, ensuring that ethical principles and accountability are upheld,” he added.
