CHHELD attended Civil Society Organization Roundtable on Proposed Rivers State CSO Registration Bill

The Executive Director of CHHELD attended a Civil society roundtable meeting  on the proposed Rivers State CSO Registration/Harmonisation bill. The meeting started with the introduction of the first speaker Leonard Oragwa, Esq. Mr leonard stated that the Bill to Harmonise Rivers State CSOs registrations in relation to modernizing such laws to align with current practices , streamling procedures and Eliminating unnecessary registration burdens that is currently before the Rivers State house of assembly and supported by a relatively unknown network of organisations operating under the banner, Rivers State Network of NGO’s, RINNGOS, through the Rivers state ministry of Budget and Economic planning takes after previous attempts to regulate and stifle&shrink the civic space in Nigeria. The Riverstate CSO Registration Bill will not only fraustrate the objectives of the CSOs in the state but will inadvertently make them an extention of government at the state and local levels, effectively defeating the purpose of civil society organisations. Leonard Oragwa, Esq listed some concerns  flowing from the Bill which are critical to address, the Bill seeks to establish a law requiring registration for organisations which engage or seek to engage in charitable activities for any purpose requiring the consent of state official as required by the law.The bill states in section 7 that its objective is to eliminate  unnecessary burdens yet it requires CSOs who are already registered under the Corporate Affairs Commmision  and who comply with the filling of annual returns to again underego another rigorous registration with another body. He concluded by saying the Bill restricts the extent of activities of CSOs, threatens the freedom of expressions of CSOs and  it is a looming threat to witch hunt Civil Societies.

The second speaker  Grace Appolos, Esq stated that section 11, particularly of the Bill gives the Registry and the State government overriding powers to monitor and possibly censor every activity of CSOs or risk deregistration. She futher explained that the penalties listed against CSOs that default in submitting annual reports are more destructive than restitutional. While the CAC provides that failure to file annual returns woud attract penalty fees of  N5,000-10,000 (Section 845(2) CAMA 2020) , this Bill states that once an organization fails to comply with the requirement of filling an annual report (section 25),  the CSO will be deregistered and derecognized. A law is suppose to be for societal improvemement , a positive impact but what problem is this Bill trying to solve right now and the answer to this question is nothing. The Bill shows that the NGOs space is being packed and delivered to the government, other cso from outside the state can not work in the state except they register with the registry or work with an existing cso in the state.

Section 58 of the Bill declared RINNGOS the leading network in the proposing and the passing of this law and its objectives and proposes to reward it with being the lead in the implementation of the open Government partnership project in the whole Rivers State.

Mrs Mina Ogbanga, the leader of RINNGOS spoke on how civil society need to work more on their research, that the bill has not gone to the house of assembly because there need to be proper documentation and an inclusive document. That civil society are supposed to be the ones sharing their information and annual report online. That the bill is supposed to achieve four things, the development of civil societies, sustainable partnership.  The bill is supposed to promote partnership, harmony and it is known as the harmony bill.

 

At the end of the meeting the CSOs and NGOs present issued a media statement on the proposed registration Bill.

 

Group photograph of CHHELD Executive Director, Mr. Dandyson Harry Dandyson and other CSO partners in Rivers State

Media Statement

Stop the Attempt to Constrain Civil Society Organizations in Rivers State Civil society organizations in Rivers state and Nigeria condemn in strong terms the attempt by the government of River state to stifle the civic space and restrict basic freedoms. We note in particular the recent attempt by some members of the Rivers state House of Assembly to introduce an NGO Registration Bill titled A BILL TO HARMONISE RIVERS STATE CSOs REGISTRATIONS, IN RELATION TO MODERNIZING SUCH LAWS TO ALIGN WITH CURRENT PRACTICES, STREAMLINING PROCEDURES, AND ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY REGISTRATION BURDENS’. Among others, the Bill contains the following critical provisions;

1. The Bill creates a registration requirement for ‘organizations which engage or seek to engage in charitable activities or for any purpose requiring the consent or approval of any state official, department or board as required by law. While it says the requirement to register is voluntary, it nonetheless makes it a necessary requirement because it is only when an organization registers that “functionality for the purpose of recognition in the state shall begin.” This inadvertently means that the failure to register will deny ‘unregistered’ organizations of government recognition, which could in turn result in the refusal of government agencies and even private sector organizations doing business with the government to share information or extend any level of cooperation. In simple terms, only CSOs permitted and approved by the state government will be recognized, and function effectively and efficiently in the state. This provision runs contrary to the constitutional provisions for the rights to free speech, public assembly, and association.

2.  Section 8(c) establishes a ‘CSO Registry’ as an extension of the powers of the state government. It places the Registry under the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, and stipulates that the Registry “is subject to the direction or control of the Ministry”Section 33 of the Bill goes further to empower the state Governor to appoint the Registrar in charge of the CSO Registry. At the local government level, the Bill provides for the establishment of a local government-level CSO Registry to be headed by a Registrar appointed by the local government Chairman. The powers which the Bill provides to the state and local government effectively allow them to tamper with the operations of CSOs in any manner they please, while effectively shrinking the civic space. 

3.      In Section 10 and captioned, “Fees and other amounts payable to the Registry”, the Commissioner of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning is empowered to impose fees payable to the Registry by CSOs to fund the work of the Registry. The Bill provides no frameworks for determining these payments and leaves it to the discretion of the Commissioner. In simple terms, CSOs will be mandated to fund the functionality of the Registry by paying an amount to be determined by an appointee of the State Governor. The Bill also empowers the Registry to ‘impose charges of such amounts as it considers reasonable in respect of registration renewal…’. This provision seeks to create additional fees and empowers the government to impose exploitative fees with fiat. 

4.      Section 11 of the Bill gives the Registry and the State government overriding powers to monitor (and possibly censor) every activity of CSOs at the risk of deregistration. The Bill stipulates that the register to be created upon registration must contain ‘information concerning the nature, activities and purposes of the organisation’ as well as “must contain…such other particulars of, and such other information relating to, every such organisation as the Registry deems fit.” Through this provision, the rights of human rights defenders and NGO doing critical work could be compromised. CSOs are obligated to provide EVERY information required by the Registry, including their source of information for advocacy work, as well as plans and strategies. 

5.      Section 31 of the Bill gives the Registry powers to arbitrarily deregister organizations. The first paragraph states that ‘the registrar shall remove any organization which it no longer deems to be a civil society organization’ as indicated through its annual reports.” This paragraph, construed literally, empowers the Registry to leverage any information contained in an organization’s annual report as a basis to remove it from the CSO register because it deems it unfit to continue being a CSO. The Bill does not provide any process of engagement with the affected organizations before removal. It places sole and arbitrary powers on the Registry. Organizations who believe they have been wrongly treated are advised in Section 57 to seek redress in court. The CSO is first removed and then directed to the court to seek redress. 

The above and several other aspects of the proposed law pose a serious threat to the existence and free operation of CSOs in Rivers State. If passed into Law, the Bill will only serve the purpose of stifling dissent, intimidating civil society organizations and curtailing the civic space. We are equally concerned that if this Bill passes in Rivers state, it could become a new trend in other states. 

It is also important to note that the combined reading of Section. 4(2) of the Constitution of Nigeria and ITEM 32 of the second schedule to the Constitution is to the effect that matters of incorporation, regulation, and winding up are in the Exclusive list which only the National House of Assembly can legislate on. For this reason, efforts by the State House of Assembly to pass a law that regulate civil society organizations in Rivers State is unconstitutional and ultra vires, and must be resisted.

As civil society organizations in Nigeria, we totally condemn this Bill and call upon the Rivers State House of Assembly to immediately jettison it.

This statement is endorsed by the following organizations;

1.      We the People

2.      Health of Mother Earth Foundation

3.      Global Rights

4.      Kebekatche Women Development and Resource Centre

5.      African Indigenous Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Devt. (AIFES)

6.      Environmental Rights Action

7.      Initiatives for Sustainable Peace & Entrepreneurship Development

8.      The People’s Advocate

9.      Civil Rights Council

10.  Community Conciliation and Development Initiative

11.  Rivers State Civil Society Organisations

12.  Selemati Foundation

13.  Social Action

14.  Stakeholder Democracy Network

15.  Centre for Human Rights, Health, Ethnic Harmony and Livelihood Development(CHHELD) 

16.  Society For Women And Youths Affairs

17.  Lekeh Development Foundation

18.  Pius Dukor Foundation

19.  Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation

20.  Support Initiative for Sustainable Development

21.  Relief International Africa

22.  Gender and Development Action

In conclusion the proposed law poses a serious threat to the existence and free operation of CSOs in Rivers State. From the duplication of laws, burdensome administrative procedure, flagrant violation of the constitution and award of control powers over CSOs to the state government, the CSO Registration Bill does not solve or tackle any problem and should be killed.

Group photograph of CHHELD Executive Director, Mr. Dandyson Harry Dandyson and other CSO partners in Rivers State
Group photograph of CHHELD Executive Director, Mr. Dandyson Harry Dandyson, Mr Leonard Oragwa, Esq; Miss Grace Appolos, Esq and other CSO partner.

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