ACCI seeks mandatory registration of businesses into commerce chambers

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) says modalities are in place to initiate a bill that would mandate businesses to register with a chamber of commerce.

President of ACCI, Dr Al Mujtaba Abubakar, made this known at the 31st Annual General meeting of ACCI on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the mandatory registration would give more recognition to the activities of chambers of commerce.

“We have directed the Executive Director, National Chamber Policy Centre of ACCI to work with the National Assembly on initiating a Bill that would make it mandatory for businesses to register with a chamber of commerce.”

“It will create more impact on policy decisions of government and that will positively affect businesses in the country,” Abubakar said.

He said that ACCI had succeeded in expanding trade groups toward strengthening the participation of its members.

According to him, in order to strengthen participation of members and give the chamber the momentum it requires, several trade groups along sectoral lines were inaugurated.

“I am confident this would help to create specialisation for members and improve their business lines with real-time information regarding their businesses,” Abubakar noted.

Abubakar expressed ACCI’s determination to expand frontiers in building relationships with embassies with a view to establishing linkages between members of the chamber and their counterparts in other countries.

He said “through the embassies, contacts were made to business organisations and as a result, several business networking meetings were held”.

The ACCI President commended the adoption of some chamber centres as national centres by the Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

“This has not only strengthened the work of the centres but given them a national outlook,” he added.

On his part, the 2nd Deputy President of NACCIMA, Mr Jani Ibrahim, said that NACCIMA was considering ACCI as a reference point for chamber movement for Nigeria.

According to him, with the membership quality and strategic location of its office, the ACCI should propel chamber movement in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement Agenda.