The demand formed part of a communiqué issued at the end of a town hall meeting on the draft Civil Society Organisation Registration Bill 2026, held on 9 July in Uyo.
The meeting, organised under the Community of Practice on Civic Space Strengthening with support from Global Rights, brought together civil society leaders, governance stakeholders and media practitioners to review the proposed legislation.
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The stakeholders argued that the absence of a harmonised registration framework subjected organisations to repeated registration processes and administrative charges across ministries, departments and agencies, increasing operational costs and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
They proposed that the Akwa Ibom State CSO Registry should be domiciled under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and serve as the sole entry point for registering civil society organisations in the state.
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According to the communiqué, the proposed arrangement would abolish parallel registration systems and duplicate levies currently imposed by different government institutions.
“A fragmented regime has for too long taxed civil society’s time, resources and goodwill,” the communiqué stated.
Push for digital registration
The stakeholders also endorsed provisions in the draft bill requiring an online registration and directory system, arguing that digitising registration and document exchange would reduce opportunities for extortion and unnecessary delays associated with manual processes.
They said the digital platform should comply with Nigeria’s data protection laws and remain a permanent feature of the proposed legal framework to promote transparency and accountability.
Board independence
The participants also urged lawmakers to retain provisions guaranteeing the independence of the proposed five-member registry board.
They recommended that civil society organisations should independently nominate three of the five members while all board members should have equal voting rights to prevent political interference in the administration of the registry.
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They further called for equal qualification requirements for members of the proposed appeal board, insisting that civil society nominees should possess at least 10 years of sector experience, similar to the qualification required of the state registrar.
Interim implementation
Recognising that the bill could face delays before receiving gubernatorial assent, the stakeholders proposed that the Akwa Ibom Head of Service issue an administrative circular to begin implementing the harmonised registration framework pending the passage of the legislation.
They described the measure as an interim safeguard to prevent further delays in reforming the state’s regulatory environment for civil society organisations.
Call to lawmakers
The stakeholders also appealed to the media to sustain advocacy for the speedy passage of the bill by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.
They stressed that although the European Union-funded project supporting the initiative ends on 13 July, efforts to reform the state’s civic regulatory framework should continue beyond the project’s lifespan.
The communiqué was signed by the Secretariat of the Community of Practice Steering Committee, headed in Akwa Ibom by Tijah Bolton-Akpan.
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