The Companies and Allied Matters Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill (the “CAMA Bill”) 2018, which seeks to repeal the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAP C20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, was passed by the 8th Senate after its third reading on 15 May 2018. The CAMA Bill is one of the most significant business reform bills in Nigeria in over 28 years. It was introduced to the Senate on 15 June 2017 and passed by the Senate within eleven months of its introduction.

The Corporate Affairs Commission (the “Commission”), in line with its statutory mandate and ongoing reform initiatives to improve the ease of doing business and the standard of economic activities in Nigeria, has issued new guidelines. The new guidelines relate to the registration of charges over movable assets and the appointment of corporate representatives. The new guidelines took effect in April 2018.

The Oil and Gas industry and in particular the exploration and production sub-sector is incredibly capital intensive and attracts a great deal of risk, such that a reasonable forecast of financial expenditure and certainty as to how to meet this is a key consideration for any forward-thinking investor in its pursuit of profit.

Almost 2 years after its first presentation to the Nigerian Senate, the Nigerian National Assembly has passed the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (“PIGB” or the “Bill”). The PIGB was first introduced to the Nigerian Senate on 13 April 2016 and passed by the Senate on 25 May 2017. In accordance with the Nigerian legislative process, the Bill was forwarded to the House of Representatives (the lower house of the National Assembly) for concurrence and was passed by the House of Representatives on 17 January 2018. The Bill was thereafter harmonised and passed by the National Assembly on 28 March 2018.

Electricity metering and attendant collection losses are well-known prevalent problems in the Nigerian Power Sector (the “Sector”). Despite the launch of the Credit Advance Payment for Metering Implementation in 2011 (“CAPMI”)1, several metering/billing systems remain in practice – most notoriously, the estimated post-paid meter reading billing system and prepaid metering system. The lack of uniformity in the metering system has caused huge collection losses and has adversely impacted the financial position of distribution companies (“DisCos”) in the Sector.

Section 244 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act1 (“CAMA”) defines directors of a company as persons duly appointed by the company to direct and manage the business of the company. A director owes extensive duties and statutory obligations to the company as she/he is regarded as being in a fiduciary relationship with the company. Consequently, a director is required to always act in utmost good faith and in the best interest of the company.

On 19th April 2018, the Assistant Director (Western Zone), Maritime Labour Department of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (“NIMASA”), informed stakeholders that following the suspension of the grant of waivers from the manning requirement of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 LFN 2004 CAP. C51 (“Cabotage Act”), vessels with foreign seafarers working onboard will be detained with effect from 1st June 2018. The suspension of the grant of waivers from..

Under Nigerian law, one who practices a profession and renders his professional services to another at his request is entitled to receive remuneration or professional fees from the beneficiary of such services unless he voluntarily waives the payment. In the case of a legal practitioner, one of the options open to recover fees or costs due to him in his

The Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act (the Cabotage Act) was enacted in 2003 and came into force on 1st May 2004. The Cabotage Act is administered by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), which is the regulatory agency for Nigeria’s maritime industry. The main objectives of the Cabotage Act are to increase indigenous participation in the Nigerian maritime industry, encourage/empower Nigerians to acquire cabotage vessels and increase Nigerian tonnage.

Nigeria has 37 billion barrels of crude oil reserves Offshore accounts for at least 80% of its total production IOC’s rebalancing their portfolios towards the offshore IOC divestments attracting junior players that can attract International equity to develop assets New oil and gas discoveries by UK listed companies - Afren and Lekoil Relative stability of offshore production remains attractive 99 billion will be spent on floating production systems in the next 5 Years Projected spend represents a 138% increase over preceding 5 years