I am a peaceful man, who likes to avoid wahala but when you tag me on any issue, I take it that you are seeking my attention and I had vowed never to disappoint anyone that brings a fight to my 18 yard box.
Against this backdrop, I respond to those who tagged me and sent me the è-flyer, wherein all sorts were heaped on A.G.Abubakar, Esq., the immediate past Registrar General of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
I have known AG Abubakar, Esq., the immediate past RG of CAC, since I led the first successful shutdown of CAC for two days, due to poor service delivery, way back when CAC was operating from Zone 5.
We became on and off friends. We disagreed on method of achieving improved service delivery at CAC.
Our cat fight continues with CAC suing me over my Buddhist style protests in CAC and I counter suing and we got to Court of Appeal. NBA under the leadership of Augustine Alegeh SAN and Mazi Afam Osigwe (GS then before he became SAN), brokered peace.
Then comes A.G. the RG. He became an administrator and we saw eye to eye on many issues. You see, A.G. was deliberately groomed for the RG position. He was SA to 2 RGs, Director of Compliance before he became RG. He came into the job prepared.I was impressed with the manner he dealt with issues of touting by CAC staff. Before his ascension as RG, CAC staff were using lawyers accreditation, to do all manner of “shit” and pay the lawyer peanuts. I had protested this, published same in Kubwaexpress and the staff saw me as their enemy.
RG had once called me, after reading a publication I made about corruption in CAC and requested that I give him the names of the staff involved. I refused as he had assured me he would deal with such persons, who were bringing the name of CAC to disrepute. I told him that I didn’t want any staff sacked but let them sit up. He accused me of shielding a corrupt staff yet I wanted CAC to work.
A.G the RG, also stopped lawyers from loitering in CAC. Most of our colleagues took over CAC as their office. It was so bad that some lawyers were called CAC lawyers by average men on the street. With COVID-19 Protocols, it became obvious that you need not to go to CAC, to be productive. CAC was 98% digitalized under him. Sure, those lawyers, who had no other “practice” but to resume at CAC from 9am to 5pm(begging to conduct search for others), didn’t find it funny.
I confronted him. And he said Che, were lawyers called to Bar to restrict themselves to CAC? That CAC briefs are briefs that can be done from your office as a side hustle and not to come to CAC office to waste the whole day. I agreed with him and pulled out from proposed aluta against him by some persons.
Oh! They called me a sellout, when I tried to explain to them, the reasons behind the RG’s decision. Another reason he gave was that, all over the world, company registration is not the exclusive right of lawyers but all citizens, particularly Directors and Secretaries of a company must have unfettered access to the records and files of their companies. A.G, may not have been perfect in his interpersonal relationship with staff but I can tell you, he is a disciplinarian and won’t tolerate laziness. Most CAC staff, have the average civil servant mentality and clashes were bound to happen.
Hate him or love him, in less than 4 years as the RG, A.G revolutionized CAC. He has left his footprints on the indelible sands of time. He has left a big shoe for his successor, I hope they can fit in and further improve CAC?
* ASHIMOLE FELIX
CHUKWUMA Esq.,is Abuja Based Lawyer and Publisher, Kubwa Express
