By Adeyinka Adeniran
Over 40 Civil Society Organization, Non Governmental Organization among others have been trained on regulatory framework compliance as a way of enhancing their productivity, improving capacity and reducing organisational efficiency in Ibadan.
The two-day training focused on ‘Nonprofit Regulatory Compliance for members of the Community of Practice on Civic Space Strengthening’
The training themed: “Regulatory compliance training for members of COP on civic space strengthening in Oyo state” was organised with support from the EU Delegation to Nigeria and the ECOWAS (EU Commission).
Speaking, the Programme Manager of Global Rights, Edosa Oviawe, said the aim was to ensure that the CSOs have a better understanding and better knowledge of the regulatory framework that governs the non-profit sector in Nigeria.
He said the organisation has a regular platform which it calls the Regional CSO Conference in Nigeria on improving the regulatory environment where it brings in all the stakeholders, the CSOs, the regulators, the lawmakers to have a common understanding of the challenges bedeviling the non-profit sector in Nigeria.
Oviawe said: ‘’Our aim is to see that the CSOs have a better understanding and better knowledge of the regulatory framework that governs the non-profit sector in Nigeria. In training like this, we usually train no more than 40 CSOs at a time to avoid a lot of distraction’’.
“Over time we see that a lot of social service organisations, NGOs at the national level and even at the state levels and community levels are doing great work across the states and across the communities. But over time they are faced with this constant push-back with regards to non-compliance.
‘’They are always faced with the challenge of adequate knowledge on what and what is required of them in terms of regulatory compliance that governs NGOs in Nigeria. Most times, it is not because they don’t want to comply, it is majorly because of the knowledge gap.
‘’So, Global Rights has taken it upon itself with support from the European Union, a delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS and all its partners under the auspices of the Community of Practice on Service-Based Strengthening to begin to build the capacity of these NGOs that are doing great work to fully understand the regulatory compliance required as a non-profit sector in Nigeria’’.
Also speaking, one of the facilitators, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Adekunle Adedeji, said it was imperative to look at four frameworks of corporate affairs issues relating to the kinds of corporate organisations in focus, compliance requirements, annual returns, and the issue of qualifications and disqualifications of directors and trustees.
The professor, who spoke on ‘Companies and Allied Matters’, stressed the need for every civil society organisation to appoint a compliance officer.
Speaking on behalf of the leadership of the Community of Practice on Civic Space Strengthening, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Ogedengbe, said the training would strengthen the work that the CSOs do, especially when it comes to compliance with government regulations.
Ogedengbe, who is a National Steering Committee member, CoP on Civic Space Strengthening, disclosed that the training was the second in Oyo State adding that the state was privileged to be part of the states selected in the Southwest.
She lamented the multiplicity of regulations in the civic space, noting that there is the need for a synergy and harmonised method of documentation.
She said: ‘’This kind of training opens us up to all the nitty-gritty. This training provides that opportunity to be enlightened. One of the things that we have seen as very important with this training is that you have professionals who have expertise, who have a wealth of experience and knowledge come to interact with us, to train us, to put us through step-by-step, and also giving us the opportunity to network, and to be able to ask questions and put things right where we have not got it right so far.
‘’So, these are some of the benefits that we’re looking forward to, that you’re able to have access to the right personnel who will put you through a seamless way of putting all of your records together and ensuring that you comply with the requirements’’.
