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Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 · Part B · Chapter 5

Section 87 Division of powers between general meeting and board of directors

(1)
A company shall act through its members in general meeting or its board of directors or through officers or agents appointed by, or under authority derived from, the members in general meeting or the board of directors.
(2)
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the respective powers of the members in general meeting and the board of directors shall be determined by the company’s articles.
(3)
Except as otherwise provided in the company’s articles, the business of the company shall be managed by the board of directors who may exercise all such powers of the company as are not by this Act or the articles required to be exercised by the members in general meeting.
(4)
Unless the articles otherwise provide, the board of directors, when acting within the powers conferred upon them by this Act or the articles, is not bound to obey the directions or instructions of the members in general meeting provided that the directors acted in good faith and with due diligence.
(5)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3), the members in general meeting may—
(a)
act in any matter if the members of the board of directors are disqualified or unable to act because of a deadlock on the board or otherwise ;
(b)
institute legal proceedings in the name and on behalf of the company, if the board of directors refuse or neglect to do so ;
(c)
ratify or confirm any action taken by the board of directors ; or
(d)
make recommendations to the board of directors regarding action to be taken by the board.
(6)
No alteration of the articles invalidates any prior act of the board of directors which would have been valid if that alteration had not been made.
Cite as: Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, section 87

What this section means

From the guide: How a company acts and when it is bound by its directors, officers and agents

  • A company acts through its members in general meeting or its board, or through officers and agents they appoint (section 87(1)).
  • Unless they say otherwise, the board manages the company and may exercise every power not required to be exercised by the members, and is not bound to follow the members’ directions if it acts in good faith and with due diligence (section 87(2) to (4)).
  • The members can still act where the board is disqualified or deadlocked, start legal proceedings if the board refuses to, ratify the board’s actions and make recommendations (section 87(5)).
  • An alteration to the articles does not invalidate a prior board act that was valid when done (section 87(6)).

Read the whole subject

Source: Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (Act No. 3 of 2020), Official Gazette No. 124, Lagos, 10 August 2020. General information, not legal advice.