By Babajide Komolafe
LAGOS — The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) has directed the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) not to go ahead with its Annual General Meeting (AGM) planned to hold tomorrow over issues of corporate governance by the institute.

FRC was established in 2011 as a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment. Among other things, the Council is empowered to: harmonise activities of relevant professional and regulatory bodies as relating to corporate governance and financial reporting; and promote the highest standards among auditors and other professionals engaged in the financial reporting process.

FRC alleged that the council of ICAN had rejected five nominees of the Minister of Education into the ICAN council, saying it was a complete breach of section 3(1)(a) of the ICAN Act.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos, yesterday, Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, FRC, Mr. Jim Osanyande Obazee, said: “The regular practice is that ICAN president will suggest to the minister the names of persons that are fit and proper to fill the position. It is at the discretion of the minister to accept it or not.

“But in this situation, the minister sent her list whereas the ICAN president had sworn in persons without the consent of the minister and because of that the council has not been able to meet.

“ICAN council held its last meeting on January 18, 2012, and since then, they have not been able to meet and, that is a corporate governance issue. Section 11(e)  of FRC Act says we should harmonise the activities as it relates to corporate governance in financial reporting.”

He said the FRC had also written to the auditors of ICAN to explain why they signed the account that had not been signed.

“Failure to comply with this directive may attract administrative civil and criminal sanctions. If they hold the AGM, we will take ICAN to court because we have written to them, telling them that their action is against the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the FRC Act,” Obazee said.

ICAN’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Dayo Ajobotosho, declined to comment when contacted.

Obazee, also said that the FRC have also directed the management of Forte Oil Plc to provide details of its 2008 hybrid offer (public offer and right issue) where it also alleged that amongst other things, “the company allotted shares its Group Directors and shareholders without payment for the shares.”#

On its collaborative effort with regulators, he disclosed that in collaboration with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), it is currently investigating the 2010 audited financial statement of the Alliance and General Insurance Limited and General Life Assurance Limited, saying that the companies prepared two set of financial statement for the same year.

“In the course of the review of the 2010 audited accounts submitted to the Commission by the above named companies, some errors/lapses were observed and communicated to them accordingly.

“Rather than deal with the issues raised in the accounts, the companies provided entirely different sets of account, incorporating items that were not originally included in the accounts under review,” he explained.