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Nigeria’s toxic NGO rule bill

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Nigeria’s House of Representatives is shortly considering what maybe qualifies equally the close unsafe slice of legislation to come upwards before the National Assembly since the provide of civilian dominion inwards 1999. It is the NGO Regulation Bill sponsored yesteryear the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Umar Buba Jibril. The Bill is stunning inwards its audacity, far reaching inwards its reach in addition to a danger to elective authorities inwards Nigeria. It should non survive allowed to pass.

There is a context to this NGO Regulation Bill which is important. It comes at a fourth dimension when the Federal Government, led yesteryear the same political party whose parliamentary caucus Hon. Jibril leads inwards the House, has signaled enthusiasm in addition to wish to flora a commission to regulate social media content. This, despite the fact that a like stair out previously sponsored yesteryear Hon. Jibril’s counterpart equally the Deputy Majority Leader inwards the Senate, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, had before failed to overstep muster. Around many states of the country, social media activists are routinely persecuted. With the active encouragement of the Federal Government in addition to the ruling party, complimentary aspect is beingness chilled in addition to dissent criminalized.

The NGO Regulation Bill is the latest alongside these measures to constrain the civic infinite in addition to destroy dissent. It comprises 58 sections of extraordinarily bad drafting, jumbled thinking in addition to un-concealed ill-will.

The Bill proposes to exercise an NGO Regulatory Commission, which volition survive headed yesteryear an Executive Secretary appointed yesteryear the President for 5 years in addition to a 17-member Governing Board, led yesteryear a Chairman, all of whom shall also survive appointed yesteryear the President. The Board volition convey powers to license all NGOs. Without the license of the Board, no NGO tin operate. The license of the NGO Board lonely (not registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission) volition confer legal personality in addition to perpetual succession on NGOs. However, such a license must survive renewed every 24 months. If not, legal personality is lost. Clearly, no i told Hon Jibril that the thought of renewing legal personality defeats the entire travel of corporate personality.

The Board tin pass upwards renewal for no reason. It tin also capriciously waive all the requirements of the law, including registration.

The Minister (of Interior) tin straight the Board at his whim equally he deems fit, including, presumably, to register or de-register whatever NGO.

All NGOs must submit reports to the Board of their money, where they larn it from in addition to how much. Before an NGO spends whatever coin received, it must secure the permission of the NGO Board. If it does not, it violates the law. That’s a criminal offence nether the Bill. The Board volition also license NGOs on co-operation with international bodies.

The Bill requires NGOs to comply non exactly with all laws but also with “all national in addition to unusual policies”, whatever that means.

Any violation of the Bill when passed into police pull is a criminal offence punishable with upwards to eighteen months inwards prison.

The Board volition savour substantial immunities nether police pull in addition to from procedure in addition to whatever sentence against it cannot survive enforced except with the limited permission of the serving Attorney-General of the Federation.

As if these were non plenty confusion, the Bill proposes that the Board volition also oversee a Voluntary Code of send for NGOs to survive adopted yesteryear “the commencement i hundred NGOs to survive registered yesteryear the Board.” The Code volition survive operated yesteryear a National Council for Voluntary Agencies.

The flaws inwards the Bill are also many to survive covered inwards the infinite available. Seven deserve to survive highlighted. First, the Bill volition governmentalize NGOs inwards Nigeria. Second, it volition suffocate NGOs with exponential bureaucratization at a fourth dimension when official authorities policy is to ease transaction costs for little entities. Third, filled with a cocktail of whim in addition to caprice, the nib is a boon to official corruption.

Fourth, it volition militarise the civic infinite in addition to arrive impossible for anyone who harbours views dissimilar from those of the authorities to organize with legal protection some those views. Fifth, the nib interferes with constitutionally protected rights to freedoms of expression, association in addition to assembly inwards a profoundly partisan in addition to impermissible manner.

When he introduced the Bill inwards 2016, Deputy Majority Leader, Jibril, claimed that at that spot was no existing framework “to supervise the mode of operations” of NGOs. This was deliberately misleading, incorrect in addition to inaccurate. It is obviously obtuse.

This adds a 6th to the problems with the Bill – overreach. With no hint of modesty, the Bill proposes to eviscerate the responsibilities of multiple Ministries, Departments in addition to Agencies (MDAs), including the National Planning Commission; Corporate Affairs Commission; Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); Customs Service; Immigration service; EFCC; National Planning Commission in addition to fifty-fifty the National emergency Management Agency.

Above all, at a fourth dimension of pathetic populace finances, it seeks to exercise nevertheless some other pointless parastatal in addition to add together to authorities overheads.

As armed services ruler inwards 1984-85, President Buhari showed single-minded intolerance for dissent. When he ran i time again for the Presidency inwards 2015, he sold himself equally a converted democrat.

A President in addition to ruling political party already nether considerable suspicion for intolerance exercise non require the distraction of this Bill. It has already passed commencement in addition to instant readings inwards the House in addition to has been remitted to committee.

In September, the House of Representatives Committee on Civil Society volition concur a populace hearing on the Bill. If the Committee does non kill the Bill, it volition label the President in addition to his political party equally politically toxic at a fourth dimension that neither of them needs that. This Bill deserves to die.


*Written Chidi Odinkalu. Odinkalu Chairs the Council of the Section on Public Interest in addition to Development Law (SPIDEL) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).


Sumber http://www.adeolafayehun.com/

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