· Guest lecturer hits IoD hard for not becoming chartered long ago
· But DG says they initially wanted to stay outside govt regulation
By Ignatius Chukwu
The entire catholic community worldwide and even non-catholics usually sit in calm mood or even anxiety each time the Conclave is summoned.
This is the gathering of the College of Cardinals to pick the next pope whenever vacancy occurred, amongst themselves. It is when the white smoke shoots out from the topmost roof of the cathedral in the Vatican in Rome that the world cheers and even roars because, surely, a new Pope has emerged.
This must be the same way the members and friends of the Institute of Directors (IoD) must be waiting right now.
They are waiting for only one signature in all of Nigeria; the signature of the outgoing president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.
The signature is not important because IoD members love the president so very much. No, it is because they want the institute to be chartered and become the Chartered Institute of Director (CIoD), and only one signature can do that magic.
The processed are complete, the two houses of the National Assembly have passed the Bill, no objection has been filed against the proposition. All that is required is just to sign that one signature.
BusinessDay captured the story this way
….. Five days to the end of the present administration, the Institute of Directors (IoD-Nigeria) is right now keeping vigil in last minute wait for the signature of the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari, to become chartered.
This was disclosed in Port Harcourt Wednesday, May 24, 2023, by the Director-General (DG) of the institute, Dele Alimi, who said he was the one leading the vigil party, explained the Bill has passed all levels and has been tabled before Mr President, and that there is no single objection to the request of the IoD to go chartered.
Alimi said it was a matter of the President sitting down on his desk in the few days to sign off pending files, hoping that the rare signature would crawl across the paper containing the text of the Bill.
He said his being in Port Harcourt to represent the president and chairperson of the board, Ije Jidenma, was because it was inevitable.
Alimi spoke for Jidenma at the Faarah Coffee Lounge on Aba Road in Port Harcourt to declare open South-South/South East wing of the 40th IoD Anniversary Lunch.
The DG urged the members to remain optimistic in wait for jubilation in the next few days when he is sure the president’s signature would have flourished on the Bill to become law and thus transform the IoD to a chartered institute.
When this happens, he said, the institute would be able to operate with the authority of law and full recognition of the government through an Act of Parliament.
The DG explained why the 40-year-old institute was yet to be chartered, saying the members felt they were mature and could regulate themselves because every member came from somewhere but did not want to be under government regulation. “But we realized we needed to get government recognition. So, 10 years ago, we began to press to be chartered.”
His explanation seemed to be a direct response to the seeming heavy indictment by the guest speaker, Rufus Godwins, the Head of Service (HoS) of the Rivers State government.
Godwins had said the IoD should feel bad that they were not yet a chartered institute whereas younger institutes (such as institute of Bankers, or for Taxation, for Administrators, or for Accountants) had since been chartered.
Speaking for the IoD president, Alimi said he is proud of the Port Harcourt zone. He said the zone is the first out of the three others outside the headquarters to organize the 40th anniversary lecture/lunch.
He noted the successful planning and execution and pledged the support of the zone in all its activities especially in fulfilling the core activities and values of IoD and the agenda of the Jidenma administration.
Jidenma had in her last visit to PH outlined her major charges to the zones including: that young directors are to be identified and included into the activities of IoD nationwide. “Young people are making impact in businesses. They are founders of companies now, especially in hitech and IT.
“I want to see networking and collaboration in IOD especially with universities. We are also going beyond Nigeria. We want to have a voice in Africa IOD. We want to take our courses across the globe starting from Africa.
“We want to focus on SMEs not just the multinationals. We want to see clusters from across the country. We want SMEs to have access to corporate governance, good accounting, and good business models. We believe that if we support them with institutional capacity, we will see many of them blossom into big corporations.”
Speaking further for the president, the DG said the IoD would want to see talents of members deployed and exploited and their businesses must be supported and governance principles must be pushed up in their companies.
Speaking the host and zonal chairman of IoD, Adoage Norteh, said it was important to listen to a critique on IoD after 40 years and the strides of the south-south/south east zone so far. He said no other person was better placed to do it than the Head of Service who is a first-class lawyer, administrator, and seasoned director.
Earlier in his anniversary lecture, Godwins said the IoD did not only fail to get chartered but failed along with other professionals to stop the slide and rot in the nation.
He wondered why the directors did not the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from inflicting pains on Nigerians in the name of naira redesign.
He also said directors and technocrats did not stop the government from taking $800m loan on its way out. He recalled the debacles of the past especially the Cadbury statement of account crisis years ago, and observed that directors often failed the companies in areas of corporate governance.
He summarized by saying its in the hands of Directors to ensure the success of the organisations they lead and ensure a balance between good governance and profitability.
