ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, has described corporate social responsibility, (CSR) as a social obligation that corporate organizations should discharge to their host communities.
He stated this in Abuja on Tuesday while declaring open the public hearing on a Bill to regulate corporate social responsibility in Nigeria.
The Speaker who was represented at the public hearing by the Leader of the House, Rt. Hon Professor Julius Ihonvbere further stressed that the Public hearing was one of the legislative processes intended to provide legal status and guidance to corporate social responsibility in the country.
He urged participants to make meaningful and robust contributions adding , “the success of this Bill is dependent on your responses and contributions to the public hearing”.
Speaker Abbas also assured the committee on Corporate Social Responsibility that the House was looking forward to the outcome of the deliberations to guide the parliament in further legislative action on the Bill.
Earlier in her welcome address the Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Professor Obiageli Lilian Orogbu said the Bill was meticulously crafted through extensive consultations with stakeholders to address identified concerns in the implementation of of corporate social responsibility in Nigeria.
According to her, “the Bill seeks to give a clear definition of CSR and provide a common understanding of what constitutes responsible businesses conduct in the Nigerian context.”
Honourable Orogbu further disclosed that as the Chairman of the House Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility she had long advocated the need for a robust and comprehensive framework for CSR implementation in Nigeria.
“We have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of responsible businesses that prioritize the well-being of their employees communities and their environments. We have also observed instances where the lack of clear guidelines have led to inconsistent and sometimes inadequate CSR practices.”
She consequently observed that the Bill would ensure a baseline level of Social Responsibility and provisions for monitoring, reporting and enforcing compliance when eventually passed into law.
The public hearing was well attended by stakeholders from all facets of the economy and the general consensus was that the Bill was necessary to regulate CSR activities in the country.
