By Nse Anthony-Uko
(Sundiata Post) — Dangote Cement, Access Bank Plc and six others have retained their Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) Ratings from the 2014 pilot on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The others are Diamond Bank, FBN Holdings, AXA Mansard Insurance, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (Nahco), United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Zenith Bank, while a new 25 companies have successfully passed its rating test, having scored the required pass mark of 70 per cent whilst 87 others are at various stages of completion of the process, bringing the total number of companies rated as of today to 33. The board also announced that 435 directors have passed their certification test.
The CGRS was introduced into the Nigerian capital market in 2012 and launched in 2014 after it was successfully piloted with a number of volunteer companies, including those now listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s Premium Board.
The process comprises three segments, an independently verified, self-assessment by the company, a certification of director awareness of their fiduciary duties and a corporate integrity assessment where perceptions of actual company behaviour are sought from internal and external stakeholders.
Combinations of the three segments with attendant weighted scores are collated and companies with a score of 70 per cent and above will be accorded the CGRS certification mark celebrating the degree to which they have evolved the quality of their corporate governance.
According to the chairman of the Steering Board and executive director, regulation, NSE, Ms. Tinuade Awe, the period between 2000 and 2010 were difficult years for business around the world, littered with major corporate failures due to corruption and poor corporate governance, as well as financial crises that shook many economies.
Companies have since then been evolving their ability to improve board structure and responsibility; business ethics and anti-corruption; transparency and disclosure; internal and external audit and control; and, better protect stakeholder and shareholder rights.
She noted that Nigerian companies have not been left out of this evolution where better business leadership and performance is expected to lead to improvements and growth in the Nigerian economy as a whole.
Chief executive officer, The Convention on Business Integrity (CBi), Mr. Soji Apampa said that CBi partnered with the NSE to design, pilot, roll-out and manage the initiative, adding, “the success rate and increased participation in the CGRS initiative is a testament to the rising acclaim that corporate governance is receiving in corporate Nigeria.
Chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema, noted that “as we make surefooted steps to globalise our market, the CGRS rating will bolster the confidence to invest in our market especially from international investors.
Onyema stated that “increasingly, our listed companies are meeting their compliance and requirements and we will continue to protect investors in our market through a robust regulatory regime.”