Letter to Members: Actions taken by the Nigeria Network of NGOs on the NGO Regulatory Commission Bill
Dear Colleague – –
I am writing to update you on actions we have taken and next steps on the various bills at the National Assembly seeking to regulate the NGO sector.
As your Network, we have written to Hon Umar Buba Jubril, sponsor of the Non-Governmental Organisations Regulatory Commission Bill (HB585), see copy of the letter at https://nnngo.org/nnngo/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Letter-to-Hon-Jubril.zip. In the letter we corrected some misconceptions about our sector as noticed in Hon Jubril’s legislative brief to the House of Representatives on bill HB585.
We also wrote to the House Committee Chair on Civil Society and Donor Agencies—letter can be read at https://nnngo.org/nnngo/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/House-Committee-Chair.zip. Recall the Bill is now at the Committee stage. We have written to the Committee Chair to ensure that a public hearing is held on the bill.
In order to create awareness on the bill, NNNGO’s Executive Director wrote a piece in Punch Newspapers and it can be seen at http://punchng.com/lawmakers-attempt-regulating-civil-society/
We have started a clause by clause technical analysis of the bill with a view to sharing with the National Assembly and other stakeholders our findings. You will receive copies as soon as this is ready. We anticipate a meeting between the Network and sponsors of the various bills soon.
From Monday 15th August 2016, we will start a National Week of Action on the bill with the aim of sensitizing our sector and the general public on contents of the bill. We will share with you our social media tool kit on this shortly.
We can’t stress enough how important your voice is in determining the future of our sector. With a lot of important work to do in protecting and strengthening an enabling environment for our operations, I hope we can count on you.
Thanks,
Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi
Executive Director, Nigeria Network of NGOs
