*Calls for entrenchment of corporate governance

The Federal Government has promised to partner with civil society groups to help them achieve their objectives.

The Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, said this on Tuesday at the National Civil Societies Conference on Regulatory Environment.

Abubakar said the commission would help the sector to find a balance between self-regulation and government control, adding that civil societies are increasingly important at global levels because of the roles they play in environmental sustainability and human rights.

“The commission wishes to assure the CSO sector that it is willing to partner with all CSOs not only to enable them to achieve their objectives but to strike a proper balance between the two extremes of total self-regulation and state control.

“CSOs are increasingly becoming more important because of the role they play at the global level on issues of environmental sustainability and human rights which are currently in the front banner of global dialogue,” he said.

According to him, a recent study by Globescan showed that NGOs play 30% of the role in achieving sustainability besides the government and business who play 24 and 35%, respectively.

The Registrar-General, who delivered an address on, “Unpacking the regulatory framework for CSOs in Nigeria,” informed members of the sector that the 1999 Constitution had provided enough operational environments for CSO, adding that the country had a robust CSO sub-sector.

Abubakar enjoined the CSOs to allow themselves to be regulated, adding that the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 was not an attempt of the government to micromanage the sector. He also urged the CSOs to develop corporate governance, adding that CSOs are expected to lead the fight “against money laundering and financing of terrorism.”

In its ongoing National Conference on Operational Environment, civil society groups also agreed to adopt statutory regulations as a complement to self-regulation, to provide CSOs with a better self-regulating instrument in the country.

This was contained in a policy document, along with other recommendations for the regulation of civil society organisations in the country. According to the document, CSOs faced challenges with numerous registration processes, particularly with the CAC and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which the regulatory bodies promised to assist with.