Nigeria: Nigerian Lawmakers Pass Bill to Compel NGOs to Disclose Foreign Donors for Second Reading

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Premium Times report from Abuja, said Nigeria’s Senate has advanced a bill that would require non-governmental organisations operating in the country to register foreign aid and donor-funded projects with the government. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced during Wednesday’s plenary that the bill had passed second reading after a voice vote, and referred it to the Senate Committees on National Planning and Economic Development and Finance for a public hearing. The committees were asked to report back within four weeks.

The bill is sponsored by Ibrahim Dankwambo, senator for Gombe North and a former Accountant-General of the Federation. According to the report, it proposes a National Donor Coordination Framework, a database of foreign assistance, compulsory registration of donor-backed projects, public disclosure of funding sources and implementation details, and sanctions for misuse, diversion or failure to register donor funds. Dankwambo argued that large amounts of foreign aid enter NGOs in Nigeria without sufficient scrutiny, creating accountability gaps and potential security concerns.

Several senators supported the proposal during debate. Lawmakers including Tahir Monguno, Barau Jibrin, Adamu Aliero, Sani Musa and Adams Oshiomhole said foreign donor funding should be more transparent and better coordinated, with some raising concerns about fraud, weak oversight and funds outside the national budget process. Akpabio also warned that unregulated foreign funding could become a security risk.

The report noted that Nigeria has many NGOs working in areas such as humanitarian relief, health, education, agriculture, governance, climate and poverty reduction. NGOs currently register with the Corporate Affairs Commission, and some with anti-money-laundering authorities, but the article said there is no single comprehensive law requiring all foreign donor-funded projects to be disclosed to the federal government.