TheCable

Some civil society organisations (CSOs) working in Nigeria have asked the federal government to improve on efforts to sensitise non-profit organisations about relevant regulations.

The CSOs’ position formed part of discussions at a knowledge share fair held on Tuesday in Abuja on Tuesday.

The event featured discussions on the efforts of the European Union and the British Council on supporting CSOs.

Damilare Babalola, national programme manager, Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT), said ACT, an European Union-funded project, will facilitate collaborations between government, CSOs, and regulatory agencies.

Babalola also said the programme will foster collaborations to promote mutual understanding, enabling environment, and sustainable development programmes across the country.

“There are misconceptions that civil organisations are not regulated but the fact is that they are well regulated but there are issues around compliance. ACT seeks to promote compliance,” Babalola said.

“We also notice weak capacity in some CSOs. Civil society is part of the mechanism used to drive sustainable development globally. They are involved in policy advocacy and policy engagement at different levels, hence we need them to have strengthened capacity.

“They need to put the internal governance in place, HR policies, account policies to aid their functionalities.

“Regulatory agencies should come out and sensitise civil society organisations on the need for regulations. The FIRS should come out and enlighten CSOs more about the taxes and the consequences of not complying. PENCOM should enlighten actors in CSOs. The government shouldn’t make laws on assumption.”

Oyebisi Oluseyi, executive director, Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO), said CSOs are interested in regulations that enable smooth operations.

“We don’t want laws that will not allow us to do our work effectively. There’s a myth that nonprofit organisations are not regulated, but experience from what we have done show that there are 54 existing laws that guide our operations,” Oluseyi said.

“We don’t want a law that will not allow us to help the common man. If government policy is not working and we spark up, we don’t want a situation where the law will be used to arrest us.

“We also want to carry out projects in communities without government shrinking resources meant for community development projects.”

Udo Ilo, senior director for advocacy, Centre for Civilians in Conflict, The Hague, Netherlands, said CSOs should focus on sustainable programmes in line with government policies.

He emphasised the need for CSOs to strengthen internal governance, accountability, public confidence, and trust.

While commending the European Union and the British Council for the ACT programme, he encouraged CSOs to engage with the government for better understanding.

The ACT programme was inaugurated in Nigeria in September 2019, to contribute to inclusive, effective, responsible, and gender-responsive development.