By Rukayat Moisemhe
Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) and Deloitte have forged a collaboration aimed at positioning Nigeria at the forefront of Africa’s evolving insolvency landscape.
This, they stated, could be achieved through enhanced reforms and advocacy for specialised insolvency courts.
The President, BRIPAN, Mr Chimezie Ihekweazu, made this known during the association’s visit to Deloitte on Tuesday in Lagos.
Ihekweazu, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, stated that the collaboration would strengthen Nigeria’s evolving insolvency and business recovery framework under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.
He added that the engagement marked a new phase in institutional partnerships to harmonise standards and promote reforms within the continent’s business recovery ecosystem.
He noted that with Nigeria’s insolvency and restructuring regime undergoing major transition under CAMA 2020 and the Insolvency Regulations, collaboration with key firms such as Deloitte had become critical.
Ihekweazu said that BRIPAN’s engagements with judicial institutions had highlighted the need for faster processes, improved judicial understanding and stronger ethical standards within insolvency practice.
He said that BRIPAN was planning a training of all the registrars of the Federal High Court as well selected judges of the Federal High Court.
“BRIPAN has maintained steady capacity-building programmes through seminars, workshops and webinars, while also sustaining international representation at INSOL Africa and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.
“So, we want to continue to work with our strategic partners including Deloitte in terms of training, so that together we continue to form this special area of insolvency practice,” he said.
Ihekweazu said BRIPAN currently has over 2,000 members, with a projected increase to 2,500 after ongoing training rounds.
He added that members were highly skilled professionals contributing to legislative and institutional reforms across the continent.
Also speaking, the Vice President of BRIPAN, Mr Albert Folorunsho, urged Deloitte to take a more active role in the association’s activities, especially in training, certification and committee participation.
Responding, Partner, Restructuring Services at Deloitte, Mr Akinola Akinboboye, expressed the firm’s readiness to partner with BRIPAN on advocacy, capacity development and knowledge sharing.
Akinboboye said the firm was keen to help entrench a culture of restructuring over liquidation.
He described restructuring as one area of impact that CAMA 2020 had helped businesses with in terms of liquidation and recovery.
He noted that liquidation was not the first and ultimate route in business.
Akinboboye stressed the need for more discipline in running businesses, noting that a number of companies in Nigeria have the right fundamentals to succeed.
“I still feel that there is a lot of education gap in the market about what we do, what we can do about CAMA and the capability that exists in BRIPAN.
“Liquidation should no longer be the first and ultimate route as administration can offer viable options to revive distressed companies.
“One of the requests that some of us in this room gave to the survey we did last year was to have a specialised court for insolvency.
“This means we do not go to the regular court but to an insolvency court where the judges understand what insolvency means, what administration means, and they can give judgments quickly,” he said.
Mr Ken Afrah, Associate Director, Turnaround and Restructuring, Deloitte, said the firm had witnessed the success of similar collaborations in other African jurisdictions, such as South Africa, where a pilot insolvency court was recently established.
“Bringing together the big firms, law firms and banks under one professional umbrella gives real power to drive reform.
“A strong, empowered body like BRIPAN can replicate that success story in Nigeria,” he said.
Afrah assured of Deloitte’s commitment to support BRIPAN’s advocacy, training and reform initiatives across Africa.
He noted that the collaboration would position Nigeria as a key player in continental insolvency practice.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that BRIPAN, established in 1992, continues to drive policy advocacy, legislative reform and professional development in Nigeria’s insolvency and business recovery space.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
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