It Falls Within CAC, Other Agencies’ Mandate, Says NHRC
THE National Human Rights Commission, (NHRC) in Nigeria has written to the National Assembly, stating its opposition to the controversial bill, which seeks to establish a federal agency to supervise, coordinate and monitor nongovernmental and civil society organisations.
“The 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 it in the proposed bill fall within the mandate of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and other agencies referred to in the bill,” the NHRC stated in its letter to the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The letter, dated September 26, 2017, was signed by NHRC’S Director of Legal
Services and Enforcement, Omodara Olaniyi.
The NHRC, however, proposed some amendments, which it said the lawmakers should consider if they insist on passing the bill into law.
For instance, 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 rec- ommendation of the Council, that the applicant should not be registered.”
The NHRC is of the opinion that the subsection be expunged, because it gives the council enormous powers to decide on which organisation to register or otherwise and that it was subject to abuse.
The Commission also rejected Section 17 of the bill, which makes it mandatory for NGOS to renew their registration.
“This section is offensive and repugnant to the spirit of ease of doing business as marshaled out in the Executive Order signed by the Presidency and it is, therefore, unreasonable and should be removed,” the commission said.
It suggests that the duration of notice before the suspension or cancellation of an NGO’S certificate be made three months, instead of the two weeks in the proposed bill to enable an organisation to have enough time to defend itself against any allegations.
The NHRC also rejected Section 21 of the bill, which makes “the ministry” an appellate body with the power to confirm or upturn the decision of the Governing Council of the proposed commission.