Stakeholders within the civic house have recognized some lapses within the proposed Akwa Ibom Civil Society Registration Harmonization Bill 2026, which has already handed first studying on the ground of the House.
They expressed issues over its authorized provisions, regulatory powers and potential implications for civic house, calling for pressing review.
The stakeholders made the decision in Uyo on Friday throughout a workshop organised by the Forum of Akwa Ibom CSOs and the Technical Working Group, TWG, with help from EU-funded CSO-Bridge Project and the Ethics and Good Leadership Awareness Initiative, EGLAI.
Speaking throughout the technical presentation, Dr Sam Oguche of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies expressed reservation on the appointment of the Registrar and three Assistant Registrars, noting that the invoice doesn’t present for direct CSO involvement within the choice course of.
He additionally questioned the undefined requirement of 10 years’ related sector expertise, the absence of safeguards for geographical illustration, and the dearth of readability concerning the Registry’s authorized standing and features. He warned that assigning extreme powers to the Registrar somewhat than the Registry as an establishment may undermine accountability.
Also talking, Barr. Shekwonya Galadima of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission faulted the invoice’s drafting type, citing inconsistencies with trendy authorized drafting requirements, grammatical errors, improper capitalisation and undefined phrases.
She additional recognized the absence of provisions for rules, offences and sanctions, correct quotation and schedules, calling for the mandatory corrections to enhance the invoice’s authorized readability.
Members of the TWG and media practitioners additionally alleged that the model introduced for review differed considerably from the one they’d submitted to the State House of Assembly earlier than it handed first studying.
The workforce lead of EGLAI, Dr Harry Udo, described the engagement as participatory and inclusive, noting that discussions targeted on transparency, accountability and efficient regulation with out unduly proscribing civic house.
“Regulation is positive unless it becomes overly restrictive,” Dr Udo stated, including that an acceptable authorized framework may strengthen accountability and construct authorities confidence in partnering with CSOs.
