A public hearing on a bill for an act to establish the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Examiners of Nigeria organised by the House of Representatives joint Committee on Anti-corruption and Commerce on Thursday witnessed a stormy session.
The bill, which was sponsored by Rep Yusuf Buba Yakubu, witnessed oppositions from some stakeholders and groups resulting in a heated session.
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In his presentations, a representative of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Dr Innocent Okwuosa, opposed the bill, saying it was a duplication of an earlier bill passed by the 8th National Assembly but was not assented by the president.
He said the new bill seeks to create a body that encroaches into the practice of numerous professional bodies including ICAN and also criminalises its members that are certified forensic accountants who do not come under the membership of the new body being proposed by the bill.
There was a mild drama during the hearing when one Benjamin Sekpe, who said he represents Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals, told the committee that the bill was plagiarized and duplication of its earlier bill which he said was passed by the 8th assembly.
He claimed that apart from the change in the title of the bill and few adjustments made to some sections of the bill, the entire content was the same as their earlier bill and therefore, urged the committee to investigate the matter.
But the sponsor of the bill, Rep Yusuf Buba Yakubu, who was angered by the allegation, took exceptions to the claims and prayed the committee to stop his presentation.
Earlier, the sponsor of the bill said when passed into law, it would address issues of illicit financial flows and would save N5 trillion for the Nigerian economy annually.
According to him, “the Bill, when passed into law would tremendously help the nation’s fight against corruption, trace,
track and fast-track recovery of looted funds/assets/resources, build capacity, attract Foreign Direct Investments and build/restore the confidence of investors in the Nigerian economy.
“In addition to the above, it will reduce the country’s exposure to Illicit financial flows as well as save the Nigerian economy a minimum of N5 Trillion Naira annually.
“Again, thousands of jobs would be created across the 774 local government areas because of the wide applications and operations of the Bill that cuts across all the three (3) tiers and arms of the government as well as the private sector.”
The Economic Financial Crimes Commission represented by a deputy commander from the Commission at the hearing supported the bill, saying it would help in the fight against corruption.
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