OVER 100 CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS UNITE FOR MAJOR REGULATORY OVERHAUL AT 2024 SOUTH-SOUTH CONFERENCE

By Vincess Okushi

At the 2024 South-South Regional Conference, held on June 27th in Calabar, a coalition of over 100 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) called for a significant overhaul of the regulatory environment in Nigeria.

The event, organized by Global Rights in collaboration with the Community of Practice (COP) on Civic Space Strengthening and the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, centered on the theme “Forging Partnerships for a Sustainable Operational Environment for the Non-Profit Sector in Nigeria.”

The conference concluded with a communique emphasizing the need to harmonize the regulatory framework for CSOs at the subnational level.

This harmonization aims to foster a mutually beneficial relationship between the three tiers of government and CSOs, which play a crucial role in national development.

The coalition urged the creation of a single body responsible for CSO registration within each state, simplifying compliance and enhancing operational efficiency.

The key recommendations from the event are:

Enhanced collaboration between the State and CSOs to drive the process of developing a model framework that would improve the regulatory environment for CSO operations in Nigeria.

Deemphasizing the multiplicity of registration requirements within the State, to ensure accessibility, centralization, and simpler regulatory compliance requirements.

The legislature should work in concert with the office of the Commissioner of Justice to propose a bill to confer body corporate to organizations registered at the state and local government levels based on the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the judicial precedent set by the Court of Appeal and the principle of federalism operating in Nigeria.

An amendment to the Constitution to remove the ambiguity of Item 32 Part 1 of the second schedule. The focus on Item 32 should be examined through this lens to ensure simpler registration and regulatory requirements for CSO operations.

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