The Scope and Limit on the Powers of the Chairman of an Annual General Meeting

Abstract

By mid 1996, there are at least one hundred and eighty-four public companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. There are many more public companies which are not quoted. Side by side with the public companies but much more in numbers and perhaps importance to the economy are numerous private companies, most of which are active and in business whilst some are just there.

Each one of the companies is expected by law to have Annual General Meeting — an opportunity for members to oversee their company, its management and its affairs generally albeit cursory especially where as in most private companies, the company in general meeting is more or less synonymous with the company in management or where in large companies business is good and notices to meetings have indicated large and handsome dividend and bonus shares to be approved by members in general meeting.

Annual General Meetings may be quite effective to ginger up stale management or even displace them or settle scores with arrogant directors who believe that they are on the board by divine right. These meetings which are generally routine in nature may often turn to effective weapon in the hands of the small investors to make one point or the other in the affairs of their companies.