While the lawmakers were on holiday, Abuja became a kidnapping theatre and killers were on a rampage in Plateau.
By John M. Tondo
After 30 days of Christmas and New Year holidays, Nigerian lawmakers are back in Abuja amidst rising insecurity and inflation, but the headline issue for many of them is the controversial NGO bill the lawmakers seem to be prioritising.
The House commenced the debate on the bill on Thursday following the presentation of the lead debate by Sada Soli (APC, Katsina), who is the sponsor of the bill.
Unlike the lawmakers, the issues bedevilling the country did not go on holiday. When the lawmakers adjourned plenary on 30 December 2023, the Naira closed at N1,193 per dollar at the unofficial window, according to data sourced from the black market. But the currency is currently heading towards N1,500 to a dollar.
On the security front, while the lawmakers were on holiday, Abuja became a kidnapping theatre and killers are on a rampage in Plateau. Over 100 persons were massacred in their villages on Christmas Eve in Plateau.
Many who travelled during the holiday became guests of kidnappers with many not able to raise the ransom demanded by their abductors.
Folorunsho Ariyo and Nabeeha Al-Kadriyah were killed by their abductors to motivate payment of ransom. The situation was so severe that a former minister, Ali Pantami, led a ransom fundraising effort.
Despite all this, the legislators have picked this moment to commence debate on a bill to regulate the activities of non-governmental organisations in Nigeria.
The bill seeks to establish the legislative framework to regulate the activities of NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
Because of the history of the bill, it is expected to dominate news reportage in the next couple of weeks at the expense of other issues. Activists have described the bill as an attempt to gag the civic space.
History of the bill
Mr Soli, who is the leader of the North-west caucus, has been making frantic efforts to ensure passage of the bill despite outcry from Nigerians.
In the last Assembly, Mr Soli sponsored the same bill in the House, but pushback from Nigerians stopped the lawmakers.
In 2017, Buba Jubrin sponsored a similar bill that seeks to regulate NGOs and CSOs. The bill passed a second reading at the House and was subsequently referred to the Committee on Civil Society Organisations and Development Partners. On the day of the public hearing on the bill, scores of protesters marched to the National Assembly asking that the bill be dropped. Members of the CSOs interpreted the bill as an attempt by the government to gag civil movements.
The committee after the public hearing did not present its report to the lawmakers for consideration, thus indicating it died at the committee level.
Activists react
Speaking on the reintroduction of the bill, Chido Onumah, the coordinator of the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, (AFRICMIL), described the bill as “dangerous and frightening,” adding that it is “every bad thing you can imagine”.
Mr Onumah said the timing of this latest legislative intervention raises questions on priority.
“If they are contemplating this at this very time, it is really unfortunate. In the midst of the existential crisis we face as a country, this is what our lawmakers find necessary to do at this time. Is it that they think civil society are the ones causing insecurity or the value of the naira that is falling like rotten oranges?
“Or civil society organizations are the ones responsible for the bad economy or the poverty and impoverishment of the people? It is unfortunate that the elected representatives, so-called, would not put their minds on some of the important national issues that confront us as people. Issues that threaten the very existence of this country. The level of insecurity is that people hardly leave their homes.
“I don’t know what it is with our legislators. It is either they don’t want anybody to monitor them or hold them to account. They are always obsessed with media, civil society organizations and NGOs,” he said.
The activist said the lawmakers are going to hear from the CSOs and NGOs in the country.
“They will hear from us soon, very loud and clear,” Mr Onumah said.
The Director of Programs of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Akintunde Babatunde, equally faulted the lawmakers on the reintroduction of the bill.
Mr Babatunde said the country needs more NGOs to put the government on its toes.
“We already have existing laws and regulations guiding the operation of NGOs in Nigeria. What Nigerians need at the moment is a vibrant National Assembly that is alive to its oversight functions in ensuring a decent country, run based on the rule of law.
“The work of NASS has been cut out for it, if there are concerns about the current system of not-for-profit management, there’s always a need to go through the right way to ensure all stakeholders are involved.
“We are in a state of high inflation, high insecurity and inconveniences everywhere, the NGO sector has been very helpful in helping to hold the government to account, we need to see more of this. If there’s a plan to reintroduce a new bill to regulate NGOs, all stakeholders must rise to get a copy and scrutinize it to be sure it won’t in any way take away civic responsibility and powers, because that has been the only thing helping us to maintain sanity in the country at this time,” he said.
The debate
Leading the debate on the bill on Thursday, Mr Soli said NGOs have become powerful but there is a lack of regulation to maintain balance. He claimed that the move aims to strike a balance.
“NGO’s flexibility and connections to grassroot communities help in mobilising resources to affected areas. Their often single-minded commitment and strong motivation afford them the civic power that other institutions do not have. However, there are many NGOs that are not ethical. There is a need for balance. Many NGOs do not even understand the standards they should be applying to their activities.
“How many of them make available to government their budget, sources of funding and the use of the funds?
“The bill seeks to create an agency that will oversee the affairs of the NGOs. To facilitate the coordination of the NGOs, to maintain a register of all NGOs, including international and local NGOs operating in Nigeria, including their precise sector and to advise the government on the activities of the NGOs,” he said.
Speaking further, Mr Soli said the agency will have the power to provide policy guidelines for NGOs operating in Nigeria.
He listed some countries that, he said, recently enacted laws regulating the activities of NGOs including Serra Lone, Zimbabwe and Uganda.
In the course of the debate, Mr Soli branded some books and claimed that the books documented the role of NGOs in deadly crises across Africa.
Speaking in support of the bill, the Whip of the House, Bello Kumo (APC, Gombe), called for the exclusion of religious bodies, noting that religious organisations must be protected.
“Of course, NGOs are non-governmental organizations including our religious organisations, while I support and urge my colleagues to support, we should make small changes to protect our religious organisations,” Mr Kumo said.
Muktar Shagaya (APC, Kwara) also spoke in support of the bill, describing it as timely.
Forced to step down till Thursday
The bill was later stepped down after the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) raised a point of order that members are yet to get copies of the bill, hence, they cannot participate in the debate with adequate information.
Mr Chinda described the bill as sensitive, therefore, members should not be debating it blindly.
“How many members have taken their time to read the content of this bill? It is not enough that bills should be gazetted, every member should be obliged a copy. Even as the minority leader of the House, I have not seen a copy of the bill.
“This is a very sensitive bill, sensitive in the sense that there are questions to be asked. Who falls under a non-governmental organisation or not? What are the powers of this regulatory agency? To what extent could these bodies be regulated?” he said.
Ruling on the point of order, the speaker said the bill should be stepped down till next week.
The speaker asked members to pick up copies of the bill ahead of the resumption of the debate on the bill.
Comments
Post a Comment