Source: Nigeria Today, 26th September, 2017
A South African corporate governance expert and former Supreme Court judge, Mervyn King, will give the keynote address at the 10th edition of the annual conference of the Society of Corporate Governance of Nigeria, holding in Lagos September 27.
Every year, the Society holds a Corporate Governance Conference during which topical issues are discussed with speakers drawn from heads of regulatory and statutory agencies, academicians and practitioners, captains of industries within and outside of Nigeria.
Mervyn King, SC, chair, King Committee on Corporate Governance, produced the King’s Code I, King II, King III and King IV in South Africa, an internationally respected corporate governance code for the private and public sectors. King would be sharing insights in corporate governance, drawing from his wealth of experience on the subject, according to the organizers in a release.
“I expect that his address at the event will espouse the principles of sound corporate governance, which include transparency, fairness, and independence of the board of directors of a company,” Fabian Ajogwu, Nigeria’s first professor of corporate governance, said in an interview with Businessday.
According to Ajogwu, he expects King to speak about having the right strategy for good corporate governance, leadership, sustainability, and corporate citizenship.
“We expect that he will address the issue of direct company strategies and operations with a view to achieving sustainable economic, social, and environmental performance, among other notable points, and recommended standards of conduct for boards and directors of listed companies, banks, and state-owned enterprises. I have no doubt that he will also touch on financial and regulatory aspects of corporate governance, and advocate an integrated approach that will involve all stakeholders,” he said.
The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Institutionalization of Corporate Governance as a tool for National Economic Development’ and will review the practice of corporate governance in the public and private sectors, its impact on businesses, and National economic development at large will also be discussed extensively.
The conference will be chaired Pascal Dozie, and the organizers expect that it will attract captains of industries, the chairmen and directors of boards of several companies, Company Secretaries, members of the diplomatic corps, regulators and other stakeholders is aimed at providing a platform for investors and government officers to deliberate on business opportunities that exist despite various economic challenges and changes.
