The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has restated his administration’s commitment to ensuring the application of good corporate governance principles, processes and procedures to achieving socio-economic goals while attracting investment through improved transparency, trust, accountability and ease of doing business.
Sanwo-Olu, who stated this on Monday at the maiden edition of the National Corporate Governance Summit held at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, said that good corporate governance remains a major factor in the continuous growth and prosperity of the economy of Lagos State.
The Governor, who was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, averred that there is a plethora of organisations that are highly promising but whose lifespan was cut short abruptly as a result of non-adherence to good corporate governance principles in their operations. He further stated that such non-adherence has been identified as a major issue that must be addressed in order to promote efficiency and effectiveness in governance.
In his words: “Our administration has continued to ensure that good corporate governance is upheld and sustained in all areas of governance including revenue generation, policy implementation and governance processes and procedures generally”.
“Our commitment in this regard has continued to receive a global acknowledgment as shown recently in the improved rating of our economy and future prospects”, he added.
Sanwo-Olu charged the organisers of the summit to bring their experience to bear in addressing the essential issues being experienced in the various sectors of the economy and come up with implementable recommendations on areas that can be improved upon in the application of corporate governance practices and principles.
In his remarks, the President of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and administrators of Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Owokalade, FCIS, said that the summit is aimed at thoroughly examining Corporate Governance practices of key sectors driving Nigeria’s economic recovery as well as provoking discussions on the imperatives of corporate governance in economic transformation.
He further applauded the Lagos State Government, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for being the front-runner in the application of good corporate governance in Nigeria.
One of the Guest Speakers and Chairman of Polaris Bank Plc, Mr. Mohammed Kabir Ahmed, OFR, emphasised that the Lagos State Government has continued to make progress in the area of good governance through access to capital, sustainable development goals and stakeholders’ engagements.
The National Corporate Governance Summit was organised by the Institute of Directors (IoD) in collaboration with the Finance Reporting Council of Nigeria and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria.