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Oando Plc. Signs on to The Convention On Business Integrity
On November 16, 2009, Oando Plc was ushered into the Convention’s fold when they became the 21st member to sign on the Convention. It was an impressive turn-out and show of solidarity and commitment as all members of their Board were in attendance to witness this significant move. The Sign –on is significant because they have become a trail blazer in their industry it also shows that they are willing to let the public and all their stakeholders know they have taken this step of integrity in Business.
Governing Board of Integrity holds meeting on February 2nd, 2010
On Tuesday February 2nd, 2010, the Governing Board of Integrity will hold its first Board meeting for the year. The meeting is scheduled to hold in the office of The Convention on Business Integrity in Lagos.
West African Investment Forum 2010 holds in Accra, Ghana
The annual West African Investment forum is scheduled to hold in Accra, Ghana between February 6th and 8th, 2010. The West African Investment Forum is an annual event organized by the Commonwealth Business Council and Business Action Against Corruption, this year’s event is being organized in collaboration with Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (gacc). The Executive Director of The Convention on Business Integrity, Mr. Soji Apampa would be one of the speakers at the forum.
Board meeting of Business Action against Corruption (BAAC) holds in Accra, Ghana
The Board meeting of BAAC members for 2010 is scheduled to hold in Accra, Ghana, on February 7th, 2010. Expected to be at the meeting would be members of the BAAC network. The Convention on Business Integrity which is the BAAC representative in Nigeria would be attending the meeting.
CBi organizes event with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
The Convention on Business Integrity in partnership with UNODC organizes an event scheduled to hold on May 14th, 2009 in Lagos. The Working group meeting is a meeting of select individuals representing the different industries to deliberate and seek their inputs on the issue ‘Promoting Ethics and Transparency in Business Transactions in Nigeria. This will be followed by the expert group meetings scheduled to hold between May 18th-21st, 2009.
CBi schedules Focus Group Discussions in the Geo-Political zones
Further on promoting Ethics and Transparency in Business Transactions in Nigeria and in accordance with our pursuit for ethics in the Business community, there will be expert group meetings in Lagos scheduled to hold between May 18th- 21st, 2009. The Expert and Focus group meetings planned are expected to define
- Clear standards for good corporate governance
- Shared ethics and values based on rational choice expressed by participants in Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja and Kano
- Define controls and oversight mechanisms
- Define a public feedback mechanism incorporating a complaints and whistle blowing procedure
We are also scheduled to hold Focus Group Discussions in Lagos, Port/Harcourt, Kano and Abuja. The Focus Group Discussions would hold as follows;
- Lagos- June 3rd, 2009
- Port-Harcourt, June 9th, 2009
- Kano, June 11th, 2009
- Abuja, June 16th, 2009.
CBi co-organises Business Action Against Corruption - West Africa Investment Forum, with The Commonwealth Business Council – Abuja, March 30th - 1st April, 2009
The implementing partner for BAAC in Nigeria - The Convention on Business Integrity co-organised the special roundtable discussion - Business and Government Cooperation to Tackle Corruption in ECOWAS from 30th March to April 1st, 2009 at the Hilton, Abuja.
This working commission was co-organised by the Convention of Business Integrity and the Commonwealth Business Council, with the support of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This special initiative was co-organised as a component part of the West Africa Investment Forum which held in Abuja, 30th March -1st April 2009 organised by the Commonwealth Business Council, Government of Nigeria and ECOWAS Commission.
Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) is a public private initiative across Africa, which brings together business, government and international organisations to find practical ways to improve good governance.BAAC has received high level endorsement from a number of African Heads of Government and has programmes operating in many countries.
The participants to this roundtable included leaders from regional anticorruption bodies, ministries of justice and from the business community. The aim of the discussion was to scope out how business and government can support each other in tackling corruption, review national initiatives on corporate governance and make recommendations for the implementation of BAAC in the ECOWAS region. This will be the first such meeting of its kind.
Please click below to view pictures from the BAAC-WAIF meeting in Abuja
CBi participates actively in forthcoming 2009 Global Compact Regional Meeting, Africa
The Global Compact Regional Meeting for 2009 has been scheduled to hold in Nigeria between March 16th- 19th, 2009. CBi would be participating actively at the meeting. The organization represented by Mr. Soji Apampa, the Executive Director would be sharing the CBi case study with regards to the experiences of Business Action against Corruption and its initiatives as well as the role of companies and associations within each initiative. We will communicate to you shortly with more information with regards to the meeting.
The Convention on Business Integrity undertakes survey on Governance confidential
As part of our commitment to ensuring good governance in Corporate communities and in the public domain, the organization is presently undertaking a survey to demonstrate how alignment of policy/budget priorities with the prioritized, declared needs of ordinary citizens can yield significant political dividends for an incumbent State Governor with the aim of promoting good governance as an end worth pursuing for State Governments in Nigeria. The survey which is sponsored by one of or donor agencies holds in Katsina state and the survey would take the form of Focus-Group discussions and Extended Depth Interviews.
CBi undertakes survey on Stakeholder Perception Review of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Nigeria
We worked in collaboration with the British High Commission in Nigeria to conduct a stake holder perception audit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB.
This survey was made up of Case Studies, Focus Group Discussions, Extended Depth Interviews and Quantitative Analysis in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano. The aim of this project is to provide empirical evidence that shows the level of knowledge that people have of the various agencies, the understanding of their work and the way it is carried out with the objective of increasing citizens' support for the organizations in delivering their mandates to the people of Nigeria.
The extended depth interviews were conducted between November 20008 and January 2009. Quite a number of people were interviewed in the various zones, professionals who had a deep understanding of the workings of these agencies and other individuals who made themselves available were interviewed during the period.
The result of the survey when ready will be circulated to all the relevant agencies and government institutions.
BAAC Breakfast Meeting Holds in Lagos
The Convention on Business Integrity under the auspices of Business Action Against Corruption in partnership with Institute of Directors Nigeria held a Breakfast meeting on December 3rd, 2008. The meeting had in attendance a select group of people cutting across business executives, leaders in the manufacturing as well as Labour unions and shareholders associations to discuss the modality of nominating an Ombudsman team for the private sector. The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of Integrity's Board- Dr. Christopher Kolade CON, it also had in attendance Mr. Soji Apampa, The Executive Director of Integrity and other executives in the business sphere.
Click Here to view Report and Recommendations
Click Here to view Photos of the event
CBi chairman speaks at WIMBIZ Annual Conference 2007
Dr Christopher Kolade CON spoke at the plenary session of this year's Women in Management and Business Conference on the 22nd November 2007
Financial Management Training Workshop for Women in Abuja, 6th of December 2007
Against a backdrop of phenomenal success that women have been recording in Nigeria, the need to respond to challenges of women suddenly becoming bread winners on account of widowhood or retrenchment of spouses and finally as a way of building capacities of women to manage their finances in a way that grows wealth, with the belief that this will lead to less inclination to corruption, CBi is pleased to convening this training in Abuja with Mrs Modupe Dada CEO of Prominent Securities and Mrs Nimi Akinkugbe of IBTC as lead speakers. Call Yinka Johnson to register for this training on 234 (0)1 2707092.
CBi Managing Reputation Training Held on the 28th of November
In today's dynamic business world, it has become necessary that a company pays as much attention to its reputation as it pays to its bottom line. To provide the lead on how to manage corporate reputation, CBi convened a workshop "Managing Corporate Reputation" During this one-day training workshop, risks to reputation, best practices in corporate reputation and its applicability to Nigeria were examined and discussed in great depth.
Mrs. Ibukunoluwa Awosika joins the Board of Integrity
The Managing Director/Chief Executive officer of Sokoa Chair centre and a respected entrepreneur who has won various laurels as an enterprising woman, from November 2007 joins the Board of Integrity.
CBi Integrity Rating Model Adopted by the Business Action against Corruption Task Force in Malawi
On the 22nd of November at the Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre Malawi, the CBi Integrity Rating System was adopted as model for rating integrity by the Business Action against Corruption in Malawi. The workshop was convened by the Africa Institute of Corporate Citizenship AICCA in Malawi and was attended by representatives of the Internal Auditors association of Malawi, Financial Intelligence Unit, the Standards Board, the Tea Association, USAID, and other players in the private sector.
Core Group Meeting of CBi Signatories
Meeting of the Core Group of the Convention on Business Integrity was held on the 7th of November 2007. In attendance were Mr Akintola Williams OBE, Mrs Amina Oyagbola Corporate Exectiive of MTN Nigeria, Mr Wallace Garland acting CEO of Cadbury Nigeria, Mrs Fola Akande Company Secretary of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Mrs Ayo Ayuba of SAP Nigeria, Mr Ladipo Alla of Omolayole and Associates, Mrs Modupe Dada, CEO of Prominent Securities and Mr Olusoii Apampa. The Next meeting is scheduled to hold on the 16th of January 2008.
CBi Presents at the British Business Group Dinner on November 1st 2007
On the 1st November 2007, CBi honored the invitation to present at a meeting of the British Business Group. The UK Trade office in Nigeria provided this opportunity. Present at this event were Peter Stephenson Director UK Trade office in Lagos, Mr Richard Powell Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Soji Apampa, Co- founder Integrity Organisation, Mr. Mark Martyn-Fisher, Managing Director/ Divisional Manager, African Region UPS, Mr. Ajibola Olajide, Director WYKO Nigeria Ltd.
Dr Christopher Kolade leads Dialogue Session with the Professional Women on the "State of the Nation"
On the 26th of October 2007, over 50 professional women gathered to discuss the state of the Nation and the role of the women as wives, mothers and sisters. Dr Kolade spoke about women as ------Moderators, and Intuitive Managers. At the end of the day, a communiqué was issued and three pressure groups were formed to work with government on policy advocacy in education, in private and public schools, youths and children in reorientation of values and skills gap. (Please find communiqué)
CBi hosts CEOs to Home Coming Dinner for Dr Christopher Kolade CON
On the 28th of Septenber 2007, CBi hosted a cross section of CEOs to a dinner in honour of Dr Christopher Kolade CON on his return from his diplomatic posting to the United Kingdom. Mrs Amina Oyagbola Corporate Executive of MTN Nigeria, Mr Peterside Atedo of CEO of IBTC Chartered, Ms Ngozi Edozien Regional Director of Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals, Mr Joseph Caulcrick Country Manager of United Parcels Services UPS, Mr Olushola Adegborioye of CentrespreadFCB, Mr Lolu Akinwunmi CEO of Prima Garnet and President AAAN, Mrs Sandra Obiago, Executive Director of Communicating for Change CFC, Ms Osaretin Odaro Program Manager of International Finance Corporation IFC, Mrs Funmilola Johnson CEO of Whitefield Foundation, Pst Tokunbo Johnson of the Capstone Church, Mrs Olayemi Keri Regional Manager SAP Nigeria and West Africa and Mrs Muni Shonibare, CEO of Design Options. The dinner provided an opportunity for Dr Kolade to speak about Nigeria: Perception vs reality.
Business Without Borders Project
Between December 2006 and July 2007, CBi convened training workshops both within and outside Nigeria. Over 500 participants attended these training fora. Towards the end of the project, CBi conducted a study that has shown that has revealed the need to recruit Regulators, Companies and all Stake holders to ensure compliance to regulations, ethics and standards defined by all interested parties.
CBi Membership
Lined up for signing up to the CBi Code at present are Sokoa Chaircentre, the Chaircentre Limited, Furniture Mart, Cashlink Plc, Business Day Media and Phillips Consulting. Signing Ceremony dates will be communicated to you in due course.
GT Bank joins the Fold
GT Bank has signed on to the Convention on Business Integrity. She became the 17th member organization to join The Convention on Business Integrity. They held their Signing ceremony on March 5th, 2007. It had in attendance their Executive Director, Mr. Tayo Adenirokun, The attorney General of Lagos State, Professor Yemi Osibajo ( Board member of Integrity), GT Bank Directors and other stakeholders. GT Bank is the first Nigerian Bank to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Standard Chartered Bank has signed on to the Convention
The bank joined the CBi family on May 24th, 2007 in the Board Room of their Head Office in Lagos. With their signing on to the convention, they have become the 18th member of the convention. The signing ceremony had in attendance the Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Simon Millet, Mr. Soji Apampa who represented the Board of Integrity, top officials of the Bank, Staff of CBi as well as the Media.
Prima Garnet Ogilvy joins The Convention on Business Integrity
Prima Garnet Ogilivy and its subsidiaries, 141 Worldwide, Media Share, Cutler Ogilvy and Lampost experientials publicly signed on to the Convention on Business Integrity on July 19th, 2007. Present were Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi the Managing Director, members of their Board, Directors of CBi, represented by Mr. Soji Apampa and Prof. Gabriel Olusanya. Their joining CBi is significant for the major purpose that they are noted in the advertising industry for conducting their business ethically and they had to lose some major accounts because they "refused to play ball". We are glad that they took this bold step and hope that others in the industry would follow suit.
Different organizations are at different stages of signing to the convention; Sokoa Chair Center has submitted its membership documentation. We await positive feedback from BusinessDay Newspaper, First Bank Nigeria, The Chair Centre and Furniture Manufacturing Mart. Details of their Signing Ceremonies will be communicated soon.
Please Click on http://www.theconvention.org/photogallery.html to view pictures taken at various events.
CBi organizes Toolkit Workshop with the Canadian Deputy High Commission
To further expand the scope of work done on the Business Without Borders Toolkit, CBi organized another workshop on the BWB Toolkit on May 24th, 2007.The workshop took place in the premises of The Canadian Deputy High Commission and we had participants from different professional groups as well as some participants coming from outside the State to attend the workshop.
Focus Group Discussions in Lagos and Abuja
As a follow-up to the "Doing Business Without Borders" Toolkit Workshop held last year and early this year, CBi organized two focus group discussions in the two states were the workshop held. The objective of the discussion is to create a forum, where the participants can come together to share experiences on how they have been able to implement the lessons at the workshop. The discussion held in Lagos on June 8th, 2007 and in Abuja on June 12th, 2007.
Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise
As follow-up to the "Doing Business Without Borders" Toolkit Workshop held last year and early this year, CBi organized a monitoring and evaluation exercise to get feedback from the participants on how the toolkit/ workshop has impacted on their businesses. The visits were done in Lagos and Abuja- the two places were the training took place. The visits were quite encouraging as the participants we met with gave testimonies on how the toolkit has impacted on their businesses.
To get a report on the Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise, Please click on http://www.theconvention.org/testimonials.html
Toolkit workshop held in Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna
CBi held series of other workshops for SMEs under the BWB project. The workshops were done in collaboration with The chambers of commerce in Abuja and Kaduna. The workshop for Lagos was done in collaboration with The Lagos Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Development service of the Lagos Business School, Leap Africa and some other membership based organizations.
Kaduna Workshop - The workshop held on July 6th, 2007 at the Hamdala Hotel in Kaduna, the turn-out was impressive and the participants were enthused that an organization could provide such comprehensive training at no fee charged to the participants.
Abuja Workshop - The workshop held in the training school of The Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) in Abuja and it was done in collaboration with The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and EFCC. It held on July 17th, 2007.
Lagos Workshop - This held on July 23rd, 2007 at the Function Room of the Muson Centre. The participants were drawn from a number of SMEs representing different sectors of the economy. The turn-out was quite impressive.
Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, Managing Director of Prima Garnet Ogilvy, now AAAN President
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Prima Garnet Ogilvy Group, Mr Lolu Akinwunmi whose company is the most recent signatory of CBi has been elected the new president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN). He was elected during the 34th Annual General Meeting and Congress (AGM) of the association that held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on August 5th, 207. AAAN is the regulatory body for advertisement practitioners in the Country. As we congratulate him on his success, we have no doubt that he will go and do CBi proud as he brings to bear the values that he has been noted for. Once again, congratulations!
MTN NIGERIA LTD SIGNS ON TO THE CONVENTION
One of the foremost players in the Nigeria Telecommunications sector in Nigeria, MTN Nigeria. is the newest entrant into the membership list of The Convention on Business Integrity (CBi). The company signed on to the convention at a public event on November 2nd, 2006. The media event was witnessed by eminent Nigerians, made up of the Board of MTN. The Ceremony was attended by the Chairman of MTNN, Dr Pascal Dozie, the Managing Director, Mr Ahmad Faroukh, Board Members of the MTN Foundation, including, Mrs Aisha Sadauki, Mr Victor Odili and the Corporate Service Executive Mrs Amina Oyagbola, Mr Babatunde Osho GM Others present at the event were, Professor Yemi Osinbajo- Attorney General of Lagos State who chaired the occasion, Mr. Olusoji Apampa- MD SAP West and Central Africa Professor Gabriel Olusanya, Mrs Ndidi Okonkwo-Nwuneli of Leap Africa, members of the Diplomatic Corp, and other dignitaries were present to witness the epoch- making event.
In the meantime, we await suitable dates from GT Bank, Prima Garnet and others who have signified interest to sign on to the convention.
CBi MAKES PRESENTATION AT THE FIRST CAMEROON INVESTMENT FORUM
The organization was invited under the auspices of the Business Action against Corruption initiative to make a presentation at the Cameroon Investment forum which held at the Hilton Yaounde on the 7th November 2006. The audience was made up of players from Cameroun's private and public sectors, representatives from the development organizations and potential investors.
CORE-GROUP MEETING FOR CBi SIGNATORIES
The next Core-Group meeting for CBi signatories will come up on November, 30th, 2006. This meeting will provide an opportunity to review the organizations performance for year 2006 and discuss strategies for 2007.
CBi WORKSHOP ON TOOLKIT ASSESMENT AT MUSON CENTER
Mr. David Grayson, from the firm of Irwin and Grayson based in the United Kingdom was in Nigeria to hold workshops to review the tool kit his firm was engaged to produce. The objective of the tool kit was to provide a resource for building capacities of selected businesses with a focus to ensuring transparency and accountability. The workshops held on the 30th and 31st October 2006 at the Muson Center in Onikan. The workshop was an eye-opener as participants were able to share experiences as well as share their ideas about the dilemmas they face in business, the challenges they face in their resolve to run their enterprises ethically and also shared ideas on how businesses could run ethically and the role of the toolkit in ensuring that this is carried out successfully.
BUSINESS ACTION AGAINST CORRUPTION MANAGEMENT COUNCIL INAUGURATED
At a meeting convened by the Common Wealth Business Council on 20th October 2006 in Johannesburg South Africa, CBi was appointed to the Management Council of the Business Action against Corruption on the Continent. This Council is charged with drawing up strategies for the operations and funding of the project.
BUSINESS ACTION AGAINST CORRUPTION ROADSHOW
As part of the BAAC initiative on the next phase, Professor Steve Godfrey of the Common Wealth Business Council led a team from the Convention on Business Integrity, CBi to meetings with key officials of Coca- Cola Nigeria Limited, Trade and Investment Unit of British Deputy High Commission and Shell Exploration & Production Africa Limited. The companies visited showed a positive interest to collaborate with the initiative and CBi in different ways.
CBi TO FACILITATE DIALOGUE SESSIONS WITH STAKEHOLDERS
The Convention on Business Integrity with the support of the Common Wealth Business Council under the auspices of Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) is planning to hold dialogue sessions with some selected stakeholders. This is in keeping with the CBi strategy to provide a platform on which Businesses and Public Sector can interface on matters of anti-corruption. The first of these sessions is between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and its stakeholders. This is scheduled to hold on the 8th of December 2006. Other details with regards to this will be made available in due course.
CBi TO FACILITATE FIRST WOMEN'S FORUM TO HOLD IN LAGOS
The organization under the auspices of The Common Wealth Business Council is holding the first Women's Forum on Corruption. It is expected that as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, business women, policy makers and executives women have a great challenge to ensure that Corruption that is eradicated in Nigeria. Women from all works of life will be present at this event, tentatively scheduled for 29th of November 2006.
CBi FACILITATES ETHICS TRAINING FOR FEDERAL INLAND REVENUE SERVICE
The Convention on Business Integrity initiated the need for an Ethics Training Program with the South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) SARS has indicated its willingness and is working with FIRS to carry out the training that will assist to make the organization more transparent and accountable.
UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT - 4th INTERNATIONAL LEARNING FORUM MEETING
Participants from all over the world will meet in Accra, Ghana to learn about challenges of implementing the Global Compact principles and partnerships for development. The meeting targets managers and other experts from business, civil society and labour that are working on corporate citizenship, sustainability and partnership issues. Ms.Ime Enang will be representing Mr. Apampa as moderator at the Learning Forum that would take place in Ghana between 22nd-24th, November, 2006.
LAUNCH OF FIX NIGERIA PROJECT
The Fix Nigeria Project which is a project of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was launched on October 16th, 2006. CBi and other key stakeholders were invited to the event.
LAUNCH OF THE INTEGRITY RATING SYSTEM
CBi has been commissioned by The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to work on the CBi Rating system that would be used to rate financial institutions in Nigeria. The launch of the rating system has been fixed tentatively for December 7th, 2006.
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