The National Human Rights Commission has stated its opposition to the NGO Bill seeking to establish a federal agency that many believe will be controlling non-governmental organisations and civil society organisations.
“The National Human Rights Commission is of the view that there is no need for the establishment of an NGO Regulatory Commission as most of the roles and functions ascribed to this ‘Commission’ in the proposed bill falls within the mandate of Corporate Affairs Commission and other Agencies referred to in the bill,” the NHRC stated in a letter it sent to the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday.
The letter, dated September 26, was signed by NHRC’s Director of Legal Services and Enforcement, Omodara Olaniyi.
The NHRC, however, proposed some amendments in case the NASS decide to pass the bill into law.
Section 15(C) of the bill states that the Governing Board of the NGO Regulatory Commission “may refuse to register an NGO if it is satisfied, on the recommendation of the Council, that the applicant should not be registered”.
The NHRC believes the sub-section gives the council enormous powers to decide on which organisation to register or not, which is an abuse.
The Commission also kicked against Section 17 of the bill mandating NGOs to renew their registration every two years.
“This section is offensive and repugnant to the spirit of ease of doing business as marshalled out in the Executive Order signed by the Presidency and it is therefore unreasonable and should be removed,” the commission said.
It also suggests that the duration of notice before the suspension or cancellation of an NGO’s certificate be made to be three months, instead of the two weeks in the proposed bill. This will give the NGO enough time to defend itself against any allegation.
Section 21 of the bill makes “the minister” an appellate body with the power to confirm or upturn the decision of the Governing Council of the proposed commission. The commission objects to this too.
“An aggrieved party should have a right of appeal in line with democratic principles and human rights, the minister should not be the final arbiter,” it said.
In addition, the NHRC said that Sub-section 21 (4) which empowers the proposed regulatory body to dispose of the property of an NGO violates the constitutional right to own properties and should, therefore, be deleted.
The NHRC said the controversy surrounding the proposed bill has been of “monumental effect” which has prompted it to act “proactively” by suggesting the amendments.
“Any law enacted in Nigeria must be human rights compliant,” the NHRC said.
The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on June 2, 2016 by Umar Jibril, a lawmaker from Kogi.