The calls and attempts to regulate the non-profit sector have been recurring through several government administrations in Nigeria since 1999. Proper regulation of any sector should facilitate and harness the best of the operators in the particular industry, as opposed to creating a stringent environment that inhibits them from thriving. A wholistic regulation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is necessary to enhance synergy, accountability and strengthen institutions within the sector. However, ‘political regulation’ by government actors cannot serve to achieve this purpose. Instead, these attempts at regulation have raised concerns among Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and led to strong resistance.
It is important to note that presently, NGOs in Nigeria are subjected to scrutiny by several government bodies, that ensure that the activities of NGOs are within the confines of established laws. That is to say, there are already existing legal frameworks to check on NGOs. Regardless, there have been attempts at introducing an NGO Regulation bill for the sector.
Some of these bills, which PLAC came across in its records include the following:
6th Assembly (2007- 2011)
- SB 254: Civil Society Organization Bill, 2009 (first reading)
7th Assembly (2011- 2015)
- SB 90: Non-Governmental Organization (Registration and Coordination) Bill, 2012 (first reading)
- SB 98: Non-Governmental Organization (Registration and Coordination) Bill, 2012, (first reading)
- HB 520: Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2013, (committee stage and public hearing)
- HB 672: Non-Governmental Organizations (Establishment, etc) Regulatory Agency of Nigeria Bill, 2014 (committee stage)
8th Assembly (2015- 2019)
- SB 111: Non-Governmental Organizations Regulations Bill, 2015 (first reading)
- HB 585: Non-Governmental Organizations Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2016 (committee stage and public hearing)
- (HB. 705) Civil Society Commission of Nigeria Bill, 2016 (first reading)
In the 8th National Assembly, while the Senate bill (Non-Governmental Organization Regulation and Co-ordination Bill, 2015) stalled at first reading, the House of Representatives Bill stalled after arguments were canvassed against the bill at a two-day public hearing held in December, 2017.
At the hearing, many CSOs argued that the Bill’s provisions were onerous and at best, duplicated the functions of already existing agencies including the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Other arguments stressed that granting explicit powers to the proposed Regulatory Commission to refuse registration of NGOs on “public interest” grounds could be abused to stifle civic groups and by extension, democracy. Other concerns bordered on the requirement of registration renewal at a fee every two years being used as a means of extorting funds from NGOs.
Lobbying and back-channel advocacy with legislators by organisations such as PLAC was also instrumental to the bill being dropped.
In 2019, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila announced that the House of Representatives may undertake a further review of the 8th Assembly’s Non-Governmental Organisations Regulatory Commission of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2016, after security concerns were raised at a meeting of its leadership with security chiefs on Monday, 23rd September 2019. The security chiefs briefing, which details remain secret, raised concerns over the number of NGOs in the country, their means of raising funds and the manner of funds utilisation.
A Civil Society Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2020 (HB 722) that sought to develop a database of CSOs in Nigeria and promote accountability and transparency in the activities of CSOs through effective legislative scrutiny, was introduced to the House of Representatives on 20th February 2020 but was subsequently withdrawn on 17th March 2020 following pressure by civil society.
However, it appears that although none of the purported NGO Regulation bills saw the light of day, the desire to regulate the non-profit space was materialised in Part F of the recently enacted Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, which introduced controversial provisions that empower the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to act as a watchdog over the activities of NGOs. In contrast, the provisions of the legislation guiding the operations of profit-making entities, do not contain the restrictions and overreaching powers seen in part F. The quick progress of the bill through the legislative stages and the fact that there was no public hearing for stakeholders to express their opinions before the enactment of the law, raised questions about the government’s intentions.
Nigeria is not the only country where the parliament has been co-opted to aid the executive in enacting restrictive legal frameworks. As representatives of the people, it is expected that legislators would uphold fundamental democratic values and work with civil society to protect the civic and political space by rejecting laws that seek to restrict or repress freedom of association, assembly and expression.
However, the opposite is the case with the introduction of CAMA and recent bills before the National Assembly aimed at controlling the media. While the National Assembly’s role and rationale for contributing to closing civic space needs further interrogation, at the very least, its inability or unwillingness to proactively secure the space is indicative of a legislature that is indirectly and inadvertently shrinking their own space by censoring their broad oversight powers over the executive’s coercive powers.
NB: PLAC tracks and monitors National Assembly bills via its bills tracking site: https://www.placbillstrack.org/