By Ola Kay
The House of Representatives, ( Green Chamber) has stated that it is not in opposition with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country over a bill to regulate their operations.
Making the assertion, Victor Obuzor (PDP-Rivers), chairman, House Committee on CSOs and Development Matters, disclosed this on the sidelines of a meeting with CSOs and development partners in Abuja.Obuzor said that, the bill seeking to regulate the activities of NGOs justvwent through the first reading and will go for the second reading and had been approached slowly by the speaker to pave the way for further deliberations.
The PDP Rivers representative said that, “We are not at war with CSOs. What they do for nation-building cannot be overlooked; we are their friends and we have the same objectives.“Our aim is to build up the nation and make Nigeria great, and we should work together.”He acknowledged that numerous bills for the operationalisation of CSOs had been passed in the House of Representatives but had not been implemented.He listed listed such bills as humanitarian law and the Persons with Disabilities Act, among others, adding that the House was putting all of them together.He said that the process would enable them fine-tune the bill in a way that it could be implemented.He stated further that the lawmakers were also looking to amend those bills.Obuzor said that, “The only error was the non-inclusive attitude towards the bill, just as it should have been put on the table for discussion and see examined whether it would change the civil space or enhance their work.”
He said that the bill still strengthens the view that some forms of regulation should still be in place.“We have the bad among the good. Some people are registering NGOs because they want to come and make money, while we have genuine ones assisting in nation-building.“We will encourage engagement and collaboration, and going forward, we will chart a way forward to address all the problems we are having now,” he said.Mr Obuzor urged the CSOs to be accountable and transparent so everybody could be accountable for nation-building and called on the lawmakers to be more patriotic and committed.
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