Follow Us on Google
•Inducts 72
By Henry Uche
Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) has reiterated its commitment to help troubled entrepreneurs and ailing corporate organisations to bounce back on their feets in line with its mandates and provisions of the law.
Its newly elected president, Mr. Chimezie Victor Ihekweazu -SAN, who made the commitment during the Association’s 22nd Annual General Meeting and End of the Year Party held in Lagos recently, said it was in line with one of its mandates ‘to engage regulators and lawmakers for the improvement of the law and practice of insolvency in Nigeria.’
Ihekweazu who felicitated the 72 newly inducted members, and past BRIPAN presidents who were honoured at the event said, “We regulate our members to uphold highest ethical values and professionalism in the business recovery and insolvency practice. We shall build on the foundation and legacies of my predecessor and implement his recommendations. We shall continue with legislative engagement with necessary government structures.”
The senior advocate of Nigeria affirmed that training and development of its members shall be a top priority as the tasks ahead of them appear taxing. “Capacity building is essential because the work of business recovery and insolvency management requires a whole lot of expertise, so our members must understand the practical aspect of insolvency practice in Nigeria.”
He pledged to collaborate with other professional bodies and government institutions like the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Judiciary, National Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and others for better understanding to see that Corporate organizations and individual business owners alike do not go extinction for obvious reasons within the framework of the law. “We shall look at cross- boarder transactions. Nobody or country is too big to fail, so our services are germane for economic growth and development of the country,” he asserted.
Speaking shortly after handing over the baton of leadership as the immediate past president of the Association, Mr. Richard Ayodele Akintunde, SAN, who laid bare his scorecard maintained that his administration took BRIPAN to a higher level of relevance in the business rescue and insolvency space in Nigeria and internationally.
According to him, the membership of the Group has grown exponentially from 413 to 1330. “We are adding 13 senior insolvency practitioners to the rank of “Fellows” to swell the number of BRIPAN Fellows from 68 to 81.
“We have also optimised Membership Experience and diversity & Inclusivity. We launched the BRIPAN Future Leaders Forum, charged with the responsibility of providing mentorship for young professionals in the field of business rescue and insolvency.”
Akintunde affirmed that his administration partnered with Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), CAC, the judiciary, and the African Sovereign Debt Justice Network (AFSDJN) to deliver trainings and seminars on business rescue and insolvency for better ways to improve insolvency resolution in Nigeria.
“BRIPAN collaborated with INSOL to offer the INSOL Future Leaders Programme to young Insolvency Practitioners in Nigeria, improved brand and increase in number of the Basic Support Group (BSG) from 6 to 10 members.”
The senior advocate added that there was legislative reforms during his tenure to improve business rescue and insolvency practice in Nigeria, graduated BRIPAN to a Charter status and contributed to the review of the draft Insolvency Regulations 2022 before it was issued. “We are currently reviewing the Insolvency provisions in CAMA to propose areas that require amendments.”
He recommended a constitutional review of the group noting that, as dynamic instruments, constitution ought to be reviewed regularly to meet new developments and challenges. “I urge the new administration to consider a review of our Constitution. This would address the types of memberships and Focus Groups as I suggest the following Focus Groups; Financial Institutions, Academia, Asset Tracing and Recovery, SMEs, Judiciary, and Regulators should be encouraged” he charged.
BRIPAN is a professional body of Insolvency Practitioners, made up essentially of members of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) who have a bias for the practice of Insolvency and Business Recovery with the desire to raise the level of practice to one of parity with best global practice.
