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OVERVIEW OF THE STRENGTHENING STATUTORY REGULATION FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN NIGERIA PROJECT

OVERVIEW OF THE STRENGTHENING STATUTORY REGULATION FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN NIGERIA PROJECT

Written by Adeola Odunsi, Project Officer, NNNGO Project Office

 

The Commonwealth Foundation project is intended to run for a duration of 3 years for the amendment of Part C of CAMA and this report is for the activities done for the first half of the first year, the project outcome is to ensure that there is an effective regulatory framework for civil society organisations in place resulting from multi-stakeholder wide consultations and also increase operational capacity of Nigerian NGOs to comply with regulatory framework.

 

The Commonwealth Foundation project kicked off with an online consultation which was done through telephone conversation with members of the network on 23rd January 2017 to 6th February 2017, the online consultation was conducted by staff of the Nigerian Network of NGOs (NNNGO). Over the course of two weeks during which the telephone calls were made, transcribed and analyzed, it became apparent that more work needed to be done regarding creating awareness about the existence of the law and what it dictates. The results from the phone survey indicated that a face-to-face/physical consultation was required.

 

The purpose of the online consultation was to capture the outcomes of key sector wide stakeholder consultation seeking input into the review of Part C of CAMA and this was done through the use of a questionnaire centered around the knowledge of Part C of the CAMA and adherence to the rules guiding the establishment, registration of NGOs on an annual basis and filing of annual returns. 

 

Face-to-Face Southern Regional Consultation

The face-to-face regional consultation held in Lagos to provide a platform for NGOs to get a better understanding of the Part C of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

The workshop was a half-day event; it was scheduled to begin at 8:00am and end at 2pm. The agenda comprise of:

 

  • A welcome address by the Executive Director of NNNGO,
  • The training organized by OXFAM(which was scheduled to run for two hours),
  • A 20minutes tea break,
  • The 30minutes presentation by NNNGO; an overview of Part C of CAMA,
  • The comments, contributions and overview of key issues session which was scheduled to run for 30 minutes,
  • The concluding note session by the Executive Director,
  • Lunch and interactive session with participants.

 

The workshop was themed, “Southern Regional Consultation on Part C of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). It was held at LCCI (Ground Floor) Alausa Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. This report summarizes the proceedings and outcomes of the face-to-face consultation and has been prepared by the Nigeria Network of NGOs for circulation to its members, key partners and stakeholders. Most of the organizations selected included newly registered ones as well as those that needed more information on the Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act. Of the hundred and twenty-four participants scheduled to attend the workshop, one hundred and one from eleven States were in attendance.

At the consultation, several issues were raised on some sections of the Part C of CAMA talking about:

 

  1. Gender sensitivity in Section 590(1)
  2. Fines should commensurate with punishment in Section 591(2)
  3. The word “infant “ replaced with the word “minor” and Soundness of mind should be determined by a reputable government hospital, not a law court in Section 592
  4. Reduction in the duration of waiting period for newspaper publications and possibly, a mention of specific newspapers to be used in Section 594
  5. Registration of Non-Profits at the CAC should be made simpler, easier and the time frame should be shortened in Section 595
  6. Inclusion of what kind of objections would be considered valid in Section 597(3)
  7. There should be a statement, which notes that cogent reasons have to be stated in cases where individuals are allowed access to their information at the CAC in Section 606.
  8. The law should be framed such that there is a unified date (instead of two different months), set aside for the filing of annual returns in Section 607.
  9. To ensure that regulations address the needs of the sector, the Minister must constantly consult with stakeholders before making regulations in Section 609.

 

Face-to-Face Northern Regional Consultation

The face-to-face regional consultation held in Abuja to provide a platform for NGOs to get a better understanding of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and get contributions of participants in order to come up with recommendations for a review of the CAMA to be presented to the National assembly.

The consultation was a half-day event which was scheduled to begin at 8:00am and end at 1:30pm. The agenda comprise of:

 

  • A welcome address to be delivered by the NNNGO Executive Director,
  • The 20minutes presentation by NNNGO; an overview of Part C of CAMA,
  • The comments, contributions and overview of key issues session which was scheduled to run for one hour,
  • A 20minutes tea break,
  • The training organized by Total Nigeria plc,
  • NGO management training presented by the Executive Director of NNNGO.
  • Lunch and interactive session with participants.

 

The workshop was themed, “Northern Regional Consultation on Part C of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). It was held at APIS Institute Multi-purpose hall, Basan Plaza759, Independence Avenue CBD Abuja Nigeria.

 

This report summarizes the proceedings and outcomes of the face-to-face consultation and has been prepared by the Nigeria Network of NGOs for circulation to its members, key partners and stakeholders. Of the hundred and four participants selected from fifteen (15) states, fifty-five (55) participants from thirteen (13) different states were recorded to have attended the consultation.

 

At the consultation, several issues were raised on some sections of the Part C of CAMA which was similar with the southern consultation.

Draft amendment has been done to the Part C of CAMA resulting from this consultation outcome which has been circulated with stakeholders. See the copy of the report.

 

The First engagement meeting with the Corporate Affairs Commission was centered on the face to face consultation outcome and recommendations for a review of the CAMA to be presented to the National assembly, the CAC also made us realize that they are working towards making registration and filing of annual returns easier and also make new members tell the CAC challenges they face in the process of registering.

 

Also the first policy brief with the title: “Improving the regulatory environment for nonprofits: Amending the Companies and Allied Matters Act” has been developed, published and circulated to donors, stakeholders, national assembly and regulators:

The policy brief indicated the results from the consultation and four recommendations were provided for regulators:

 

  1. Promote regulations amongst nonprofits to enhance technical and sector knowledge.
  2. Flexibility needs to be integrated into regulatory approaches.
  3. Improve and strengthen ease of registration for nonprofits.
  4. Encourage improved regulatory compliance on filing annual returns starting with
    “amnesty on penalties”.

 

The first CAMA Op Ed: “” has also been developed. The Op Ed provided a general overview on the legal framework for the establishment of corporate organisations in Nigeria. It highlights governance structures for corporate foundations, dissolution and corporate social responsibility reporting.

 

The CAMA analysis made suggestions and justifications for Sections 590, 597, 599, 604, 607 of the Part C of CAMA using the NGO Model Law as a reference for review and amendment of the Part C of CAMA (2004) by the Corporate Affairs Commission and National Assembly.