Nigerians and Civil Society Organisations are beginning to react to the proposed Foreign Aids (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill 2026 by the National Assembly .

While CSOs view the bill as a ‘Coordinated legislative effort to expand executive control over civil society, some sections of Nigerians on social media have said government control of CSOs is long overdue due to abuses of the platform by some NGOs in the country.

CSOs in a joint statement argued that the bill represent an increasingly coordinated legislative effort to expand executive control over civil society,
independent media and digital spaces while curtailing civic participation, public scrutiny and democratic accountability.

They are alarmed that the bill would confer sweeping powers on the authorities to monitor, regulate, sanction, suspend and potentially shut down non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and private entities receiving foreign assistance under the guise of promoting transparency, accountability and the prevention of the misuse of foreign aid.

The CSOs also raised concern over the timing of bill, giving the preparation for the 2027 general elections.

They recall Nigeria’s commitment to international bodies including African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, United Nations to uphold democracy, human rights and the rule of law, saying National Assembly has a constitutional and international legal responsibility to strengthen and not weaken the protections that safeguard civic space and democratic governance.

They further argued that Sections 1 and 2 of the bill, bothering on transparency and accountability failed to distinguish between public funds received by government institutions and private philanthropic resources received by independent organisations, this risks transforming public financial regulation into state control

They also criticized Sections 3–5 seeking to establish the Foreign Aid Regulatory Commission (FARC) with extensive powers to register NGOs, demand information, conduct inspections and audits, impose sanctions and enforce compliance with undefined “national policies and priorities”. They said such powers duplicate functions already performed by Corporate Affairs Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML).

They took swipe at Sections 6–8 which requires every recipient of foreign assistance to register with FARC within 30 days, criminalise non-registration, impose extensive disclosure requirements through a National Foreign Aid Register, and require detailed reporting obligations regardless of the nature, size or risk profile of the funding.

Reacting further to Sections 9–11 which impose further controls by requiring annual audits and compelling foreign-funded projects—including those undertaken by independent civil society organisations—to align with government-defined national development priorities.

They said such legislation would create risks of executive interference in legitimate human rights, governance, anti-corruption, public interest litigation and accountability work.

On Sections 12–16 which impose severe criminal and administrative sanctions, including fines, imprisonment, suspension or revocation of operational licences, broad regulation-making powers for the Commission, and an extremely broad definition of “foreign aid” capable of capturing virtually all forms of international financial and technical assistance.

They also condemned legislative proposals seeking to compel social media platforms to establish physical offices in Nigeria or face prohibition from operating in the country, saying such proposals woud increase governmental leverage over digital platforms that facilitate public debate, access to information and civic participation.

Meanwhile, some Nigerians on X has applauded the recent move to regulate NGOs in the country. Commenting under a recent post by the Executive Director of Center for Social Justice Chidi Odinkalu, Chukwumaeze Duke said “. There has to be some level of accountability from them especially from the perspective of National Security. Lots of the so called NGOs are just CIA agents. My problem is the incompetence of Abuja to manage it.”

@Chude-ND1 said “This law isn’t as dangerous as portrayed. But what the government should do is to regulate all foreign NGOs and any local NGO that has a foreign tie or receives money from a foreign organization. By that the illicit flow of funds to terror organizations can be curtailed.

@ thebillidre said “The bill is an excellent one and few parts can be debated upon + Abuja is there to carryout oversights to know where funds are coming from, what is the purpose and how it will be utilized NGOs, Faith-Based Institutions among others are all used as conduit pipes for money laundering and terrorism

@serialwimnar said “Odinkalu needs to be checked. This is not normal anymore. All he does is whip up sentiment because he knows a lot of Nigerians don’t do personal research. How is the government regulating NGOs a bad thing? Is this man saying he doesn’t know the atrocities NGOs have wrecked in the country? ”

“Is there anyone in this country who doesn’t know that the terrorism and lengthy unrest experienced in some part of this country and in some countries around the world are largely encouraged by unscrupulous NGOs? The fact that he even went as far as editing a video for this purpose shows he’s part of those benefiting from the chaos and bloodshed these NGOs are causing. This is a brilliant move and I hope the bill is passed speedily.”