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FG set to relax regulatory environment for CSOs, as they appeal for protection against repressive laws
Nasiru Yusuf
The Federal Government says it will loosen the environment in order to make it more effective and attractive for the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to operate.
KANO FOCUS reports that Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission Alhaji Garba Abubakar, revealed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the national conference on CSOs operational environment.
Abubakar represented by his Personal Assistant Mr. Terver Ayua-Jor said “COSs are increasingly becoming more important because of the role they play at global level on issues of environment sustainability and human rights which are currently in the front banner of global dialogue.”
Mr. Terver Ayua-Jor
According to him, a recent study commissioned by Globescan poll of experts indicated that the percentage role expected to be played by Government, Business and NGOs in achieving sustainability is 24, 35 and 30 per cent, respectively.
He said that the study clearly indicated that CSOs were expected to play more active role in achieving environmental sustainability than government.
Abubakar said that in modern times, CSOs were widely understood to be the “third sector” of the economy distinct from government and business.
“The topic ‘unpacking the regulatory framework for CSOs in Nigeria’ presupposes that the environment is currently tightly packed or conscripted and require loosening in order to make it more effective.
“This assumption appears to be an exaggeration or untenable because S 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended provides that ‘every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular.
“The person may form or belong to a political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests”,’’ he said.
Abubakar said that the constitution had already unpacked operational environment for CSOs.
He said that the country also has a very robust CSOs sub sector.
According to him, ”this is just a biased sample and excludes other interests such as health, human rights, environmental, charitable and humanitarian groups.”
He said an attempt to improve the corporate governance framework in CAMA 2020 has been misconceived as attempts to micro-manage civil society organizations.
Abubakar said,” experience has shown that corporate governance was very minimal or sometimes totally lacking in most of the CSOs.
“ This is not in the overall interest of the country.
“Globally, CSOs (NPOS) are expected to be in the forefront in the fight against Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism.
“They are accordingly required to implement Regulations of 8 and 25 of the Financial Taskforce (FATF) on nonprofit organizations and legal arrangements.”
According to him, there was usually a distinction between freedom of association and perceived rights to association under a particular name.
“It is recognized that there is fundamental right to association, there is no right to association under particular name.
“The use of a particular name requires licensing or registration and can be denied by a sovereign state or its agency,’’ he said.
He assured the CSO sector that the commission was willing to partner with all CSO’s, to enable them achieve their objectives.
The deputy ambassador and head, Politics, Press and Information section of the EU, Elexandre Borges Gomes, said they are great fans of the CSOs in Nigeria and will support them to promote good governance and democracy.
Elexandre Borges Gomes
Addressing journalists at a Press Conference to mark the event, the chairman of organising committee who double as Programmes Manager, Global Rights Edosa Oviawe, Programmes, said that Civil Society Organisation have gathered to brainstorm on the appropriate instruments to regulate their operations in Nigeria.
He said that the conference was aimed at generating shared understanding and collective perspectives by stakeholders in this direction.
Oviawe said the conference would also discuss increasing public awareness about the roles of CSOS and the need for an enabling regulatory environment that protects the sector from repressive legislations.
Edosa Oviawe
According to him, ”there is a concern about the low level of awareness of existing regulations among relevant stakeholders, including CSOS, NGOS and regulators.”
He said that in spite of the existence of over a dozen legislations, Nigerian lawmakers for example, still claim, “there is no law that regulates the activities of NGOs.”
Oviawe said that instead of interrogating the effectiveness and relevance of extant regulations, each administration since 2007, was swift to introduce another legislation to regulate .
“The recent was the re-introduction of the NGO bill on the floor of the House of Representatives in July,’’ he said.
“This event was the first of its kind in Nigeria as there has not been any previous attempt to bring various stakeholders to discuss pertinent issues that affect the effectiveness and impact of the civil society sector.
“The conference will also address the enabling conducive regulatory environment for CSO operations in the country,’’ Oviawe said.
He said the conference was supported by the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and West Africa and EU-Agents for Citizen-driven Transformation (ACT) Programme through a collaboration of EU-ACT Programme.
Others, he said, are Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and USAID-Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE), aimed at improving the civil society regulatory environment in Nigeria.
Oviawe said that in spite of the availability of over a dozen legislations and policies that currently guide the activities of the not for-profit sector, at least five unsuccessful attempts had been made within the past decade by different regulatory agencies.
According to him, ”every National Assembly introduces new legislations and policies to further regulate CSO operations without recourse to extant legal provisions.”
He said that instead, ”a misguided perception continued to expand the narrative among these regulatory agencies that CSOs were not adequately regulated.
“There is the need for capacity improvement and enabling regulatory environment require attention to strengthen CSO operations in Nigeria.
“It is, however, expedient to address the concerns around the regulatory framework as several issues embedded therein need to be clarified in order to clear the air of the current state of confusion among stakeholders,’’ Oviawe said.
He said that EU-ACT collaborated with the National Steering Committee on Civil Society Regulatory Environment to host the conference which is designed as a response to address some of these concerns,.
Oviawe said, ”it was necessary to address the concerns around the regulatory framework as several issues embedded therein need to be clarified in order to clear the air on issues.
“It is on this premise that the EU-ACT has collaborated with the National Steering Committee on Civil Society Regulatory Environment to orgainse the conference to address some of these concerns.
“Currently, there is no unified perspective about what should constitute a body of regulations for CSOs and this has resulted in various interpretations by different actors on how the sector should be regulated.
“Unless resolved and properly clarified, this issue of multiple definitions will continue to put both regulatory agencies and civil society actors at loggerheads,’’ he said.
The 3-day National Conference on Civil Society Regulatory Environment in Nigeria brings together various actors from the civil society sector, and government including regulatory agencies and legislators, as well as donors and other stakeholders, to discuss pertinent issues that affect the effectiveness and impact of the civil society sector from the point of view of enabling a conducive regulatory environment for CSO operations in the country.
The broad objective of the conference is to create an opportunity for stakeholders to synergize efforts at improving the CSO regulatory environment.
The Conference is aimed at generating shared understanding and collective perspectives by stakeholders on appropriate instruments of regulation and effective processes to regulate CSOs operation in Nigeria as well as increasing broad public awareness about the roles of CSOs and the need for an enabling regulatory environment to protect the sector from repressive legislation.
This convergence is the first of its kind to provide a neutral platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue and ensure that all relevant opinions from all concerned groups are holistically collected. It is therefore hoped that this conference will result in the development of comprehensive recommendations arising from the resolutions reached and agree on modalities for implementing the recommendations.
The National Conference on Civil Society Operational Environment is supported with funding from the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS and the Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT) Programme which is implemented by the British Council.
Headlines
World Teachers’ Day 2024: NUT Honors Gov.Yusuf for Outstanding Performance in Education Reform
Mukhtar Yahya Usman
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has honored Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, with a prestigious award for his exceptional performance in reforming the state’s education sector.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s Spokesperson, Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa on Saturday.
The award was presented during the celebration of World Teachers’ Day 2024 at Eagle Square, Abuja, in a vibrant event organized in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education.
The event brought together teachers from across the 36 states of Nigeria to honor the significant contributions made to the education sector.
Governor Yusuf was recognized with the NUT Golden Award for his transformative efforts in rescuing Kano’s education sector from years of decay and neglect.
In his remarks, NUT National Chairman, Comrade Titus Ambe, noted that only six governors were selected for this honor, based on their unwavering commitment to advancing education, particularly through the support of teachers’ welfare and continuous training.
Specifically, Governor Yusuf’s accomplishments were highlighted, including his administration’s allocation of 29.9% of Kano’s 2024 budget to education and his declaration of a state of emergency in the sector, which has significantly improved both infrastructure and access to quality education in the state.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, commended the governors for their dedication.
Speaking on behalf of the six awardees, which included the Governors of Borno, Oyo, Benue, Enugu, and Kebbi states, Governor Yusuf reaffirmed his commitment to further investing in education, emphasizing the importance of sustaining progress to ensure future generations thrive.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The major opposition political party in Kano, the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Friday instituted a fresh suit against the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC, before the Federal High Court sitting in Kano.
KANO FOCUS reports that the party is asking the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing voter register for the conduct of the council poll.
The plaintiffs, APC and the party Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, instituted the suit through their counsel, Ismail Abdulaziz.
They also sought an interlocutory application to restrain the state electoral body from continuing with the process and conduct of the council election slated for 26th October, 2024.
Defendants joined in the suit include, the Kano State Attorney General, Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, KANSIEC Chairman, Sani Lawan and other members.
Abdulaziz said, “we are asking for the court to interpret some provisions of the constitution, KANSIEC guidelines, the law itself in seeking whether KANSIEC is a revenue generating agency and considering that the N9m and N4m requested to be paid by Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates by KANSIEC were exorbitant.
“We want the court to determine whether KANSIEC will be impartial looking at present members that constituted the commission.
“We are also seeking the court to order INEC not to release election materials such as voter register to KANSIEC until the commission abide by the provision of the constitution.
“We now sought for interlocutory injunction to restrain the continuation of the continuing with process and conduct of the election. The defendants did not receive our processes and the court adjourned till next Friday so that all the parties to file their responses,” Abdulaziz said.
Moving the application before the Presiding Judge, Justice Simon Amobeda, on Friday the court adjourned the matter till 11th October, 2024 and ordered the plaintiffs to serve the defendants.
Meanwhile, in a related matter, the Counsels to Kano State government, Rilwanu Umar SAN and Kano State House of Assembly, Bar. Bashir Yusuf said they have filed a preliminary objections before the Justice Amobeda challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear matters concerning KANSIEC.
The Counsels said only state high court and state assembly have the powers to entertain any matter that border on regulations of KANSIEC and not federal agency or so.
Kano state government application came in response to motion on notice moved by APC and one Aliyu Aminu Tiga on why the court should not stop the conduct of the election.
Recall one Aminu Aliyu Tiga and the APC had earlier filed an application seeking the court to stop the electoral body from conducting the elections in which Justice Amobeda in interim refused to grant and however noted that the defendants shall be put on notice to show cause why the prayers shall not be granted.
The Court presided by Justice Simon Amobeda however adjourned the matter till 11th October for hearing.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf on Thursday flag off distribution of instructional materials worth millions of naira to public schools as part of its educational recovery policy.
This was made known in a statement issued by the Governor’s Spokesperson Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa.
The distribution of the educational materials that would be issued free to pupils in Primary, Junior and Secondary Schools in the state, comes few days after the government unveiled hundreds of school furniture across public learning centres to enable a conducive atmosphere for effective teaching and learning.
Unveiling the learning materials at Government House, Governor Yusuf said government is taking a bold step to reverse the unfortunate setbacks brought to system over the years.
The Governor regretted what he considered as deteriorating
infrastructure, and high number of out-of-school children, coupled with the closure of several boarding schools before he assumed the mantle of leadership.
Yusuf worried that the ugly situation brought about by poor management of public policy on education by the past administration, have led to a severe decline in the quality of education across the state.
He however pledged his administration’s commitment to address the predicaments in line with his vision to restore the lost glory of quality system of education in Kano.
“We are fully committed to addressing these issues head-on. In line with our vision to restore the greatness of education in Kano State, we declared a State of Emergency in Education to pave the way for a holistic approach to revamping our educational system ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to educate our children effectively.
“Our administration has also embarked on the massive rehabilitation of schools across the state, as well as the construction of new blocks of classrooms to create a conducive learning environment.
“We have recently produced hundreds of thousands of pieces of furniture for our pupils, and very soon, we shall flag off the distribution of school uniforms for Primary One pupils, ensuring they start their educational journey with dignity and pride”. Yusuf said.
The instructional materials provided as explained by the governor are essential for creating an enabling environment where teaching and learning can thrive as education is the bedrock of development and providing necessary resources for its development is an investment for the future.
He used the opportunity to call on parents and stakeholders to partner with the present administration to rebuild, reenergize and ensure children are return back to schools.
Materials distributed during the occasion include; 120,000 cartons of Chalk,97,532 record of workbooks, 93,600 exercise books, 199,234 class registers, 350,000 student report sheets, 351,000 lesson observation books, and 30,000 copies of new National Anthem
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