From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja
The House of Representatives practically resumed to a controversy. Weeks before Tuesday, September 26, the day which the Green Chamber reopened for business, the House had been a subject of heavy criticism over a piece of legislation, simply tagged the anti-NGO bill by many, most especially on the social media.
Just days before Speaker Yakubu Dogara conducted the ritual of leading -in the procession of the principal officers of the House for plenary, a video by the former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi Odinkalu ,warning that churches, mosques and even rural cooperatives will be regulated by the NGO regulation commission went viral. This resulted in thousands signing- up an online petition calling on the National Assembly to drop the bill.
Members of the civil society probably decided to take action on the bill entitled: “An Act to Provide for the Establishment of Non Governmental Organisation Regulation Commission of Nigeria (NGORCN), for the Supervision, Coordination and Monitoring of NGOs, Civil Society, etc”, at the right time, as activists took to town to moblise against the bill when members of the National Assembly were on their annual vacation.
And if the National Assembly didn’t return for an emergency session on matters of national importance such as agitations by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South East and the resultant Operation Python Dance or the strikes by resident doctors as well as university lecturers, the leadership of the House had to wait to return from their vacation to officially respond to disparagements over the bill.
But lawmakers managed to defend the proposed bill, with its sponsor and Deputy Majority Leader, Umar Buba Jibril vehemently denying that churches and mosques would be regulated by the proposed Non Governmental Organisation Regulation Commission of Nigeria.
He insisted that with the proliferation of NGOs, some with unpleasant stories coming from their activities, it had become necessary for government to monitor local and foreign organisations, especially with regard to their dealings with the public.
His statement reads in part: “Now NGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) and CSOs(Civil Society Organizations) are voluntary organizations that are registered to partner government at all levels to fill gaps wherever they exist. They are supposed to be partners in progress with the government; therefore the need for a commission to serve this purpose arises
“Secondly and naturally, for them to carry out their activities, the NGOs and CSOs solicit for funds from all over the World and collect billions of naira on behalf of Nigerians.
“Thirdly they recruit expatriates to help them run their activities in the country with lots of abuses. Recent developments have shown that some people register NGOs, solicit for funds and disappear. That happened recently in the North East. Some NGOs are used to fund the activities of terrorist and insurgents.
“The NGOs bill therefore is primarily to set up a commission to regulate their activities and provide a platform for robust relationships between them and the government for the interests of Nigerians. In addition it is to ensure transparency and accountability in the ways and manners the NGOs collect moneys and use them for Nigerians”.
Also accusing those against bill of whipping up sentiments, Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila stated: “Shame that people would conjure up what is not in a bill, just to justify their position. Nowhere in the bill is there any reference to churches or mosques or old students’ associations, Wonder why we must n whip up sentiments that mean much to Nigerians, religion. My final word: where there are reservations or any seeming legislative overreach please send such to my inbox and it will be looked into at the public hearing”.
Nevertheless, Jibril’s curt statement was swiftly responded to by Odinkalu in a widely shared message. He termed the lawmaker’s response as desperate and lacking in substance. He said: “Umar Jibril, Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Reps in Abuja, now claims in a release that his NGO bill is needed because NGO’s are sponsoring terrorism. That needs an immediate response.
“The desperation in this release doesn’t bear thinking about. Almost every line in the release by Jibril drips with cheap mendacity. It’s difficult to think that Jibril himself has even read the bill that he claims to be sponsoring. To begin with, this is coming from a NASS (National Assembly), that refuses to say how much its members earn. But let’s not digress.
“It is irresponsible for the leadership of the NASS (National Assembly) to claim that NGOs who are sponsoring terrorism or stealing money in the North -East can only be dealt with after we have got a new law, surely? Or violating immigration laws? You mean there are no laws or means now to put them out of business? You just need to mention this to realise how specious it sounds”.
As the back and forth between the House and the civil society went on, right from within the National Assembly came support for groups kicking against the bill. Senator Shehu Sani also tweeted: “The bill on NGOs will reinforce those with tyrannical tendencies and further stifle rights to freedom of speech and assembly. I’ll oppose it”.
And just before lawmakers could accuse aggrieved activists of crying more than the bereaved, the Catholic Church spoke out against the bill.
Speaking on the development, the Executive Director, Caritas Nigeria, an arm of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Rev. Fr Evaristus Bassey, described many aspects of the bill as deceitful.
Daily Sun investigation reveal that the proposed NGO regulation commission would still need to register NGOs already incorporated by the Corporate Affairs Commission and the registration which is to be paid for, and must be renewed every two years.
Also Part 4 of the bill in which guidelines for registration and licensing of NGOs and Civil Society Groups are stated, it is an offence to operate an NGO on health relief, education, the supply of amenities and agriculture without registration and certification. Part 2 of the bill stipulating the objectives, functions and powers of the commission also indicate that as regulator, the commission would provide policy guidelines for NGOs. The explanation is that the guidelines would ensure a harmonisation of interventions from NGOs to conform to the national development plan.
Equally worrisome to persons not supporting the bill, Daily Sun further learnt is the fact that the commission would have a large bureaucracy to be headed by an Executive-Secretary, who is going to be reporting to a 17-man board. For concerned activists, this commission’s wage bill will add to the already huge recurrent expenditure of the Federal Government.
Despite the uproar on the NGO regulation commission bill, especially talk that actions of fraudulent organisations in the North-East is the main reason for the move by the House, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, who is from the zone didn’t shy away from the heated debate.
Dogara, who sponsored the North-East Development Commission bill, which has now become an Act, and who hasn’t hidden his wish to act as anchor for beleaguered zone, took a swipe at critics of the House. Just like he did with the calls for restructuring and the spike in hate speech, the Speaker in his welcome address to his colleagues on resumption day, stressed the need to work out the real issues from the “noise”.
He opined that even with the bill passing second reading, it can only come for third reading and subsequently be passed into law if it survives the public hearing stage. Nigerians, majority of who are sharply divided on the matter would be closely monitoring this stage of the process, though some activists and other critics of the bill have expressed fear that lawmakers would have the final say as they would come up with the report on the public hearing.
Even with the misgivings, it was further gathered; Nigerians would have to take up the challenge to make their voices heard at the public hearing even if it is for the records. This is because it was clear; the House has no plans of buckling under public pressure.
Dogara gave a hint to the mood of the House, when he said: “Public criticism of the content of the bill is a welcome development and there are many who are doing just that. Indeed it is the reason why every bill is subjected to Public Hearing so that the inputs of stakeholders can be obtained to ensure public buy in. I hasten to say that all Nigerians and other corporate persons including non Nigerians are stakeholders and have a right to support or oppose a bill.
“However when opinions are targeted at disparaging the institution of the legislature then it becomes imperative to interrogate the motives driving such, especially when this emanates from those who should know. Everyone should understand that the principal objective of the NGO Regulation Bill is to inject transparency, accountability and prevent the subversion of national security from both within and without. No one can nor indeed should gag the operations of NGOs in Nigeria, but just as they aspire for this freedom, it must be stated that freedom does not come without responsibility as there is no such thing as freedom to be irresponsible.
“There are also desperate attempts to instigate religious bodies and cultural Organisations to oppose the bill by spreading falsehood that they are the target of this bill. For the avoidance of doubt, let me state once again that Churches, Mosques, Esussu, Market Women Associations as well as Local Quasi Financial Institutions are not NGOs and thus the bill has nothing to do with their operations. The legislative process cannot be short circuited. The National Assembly cannot be intimidated into abandoning its sacred legislative duties of providing a platform for Nigerians to agree or disagree on any proposed legislative measure. This openness and transparency is what the NGOs have always canvassed and promoted and they should therefore embrace this opportunity to interrogate the issues with open arms”.