Senate Tightens Noose on Foreign Aid, Moves to Bring NGOs Under Stricter Oversight

•Cites accountability gaps, transparency concerns, national security risks

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate on Wednesday moved to tighten government oversight of billions of naira in foreign aid and donor-funded interventions by advancing a bill that seeks to subject non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donor agencies and sub-national governments to a more robust regulatory framework.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe North), scaled second reading after lawmakers raised concerns over accountability gaps, financial transparency and potential national security risks arising from the current system of managing foreign grants and humanitarian assistance.

If enacted, the bill will establish a comprehensive legal framework for coordinating, monitoring and integrating all foreign assistance into Nigeria’s fiscal and development planning system.

Leading the debate, Dankwambo said Nigeria remained one of Africa’s largest recipients of grants, concessional financing, humanitarian support and technical assistance from bilateral and multilateral development partners, yet lacked a central mechanism for tracking and coordinating such inflows.

He noted that donor-funded projects were currently scattered across ministries, departments and agencies, with many interventions implemented outside the national budget process, creating room for duplication, weak coordination and poor accountability.

According to him, the proposed legislation is designed to ensure that all foreign assistance received in the country comes under constitutional oversight and aligns with national development priorities.

The bill proposes the establishment of a National Donor Coordination Framework, compulsory registration of all donor-funded projects, and creation of a national database for foreign assistance.

It also seeks the integration of donor interventions into government budgets, mandatory public disclosure of funding and implementation details, as well as sanctions for the diversion, misuse or non-registration of donor funds.

The proposal received overwhelming backing from senators, who argued that huge sums channeled through NGOs and state governments had remained outside effective public scrutiny for years.

Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno, described the bill as timely and necessary, saying donor agencies currently determine the deployment of foreign assistance with little domestic coordination.

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, observed that while foreign assistance received directly by the Federal Government was usually reflected in the national budget, substantial funds channeled to NGOs and sub-national governments remained largely beyond public oversight.

“We can’t tell what money goes into the coffers of NGOs. Fraudsters set up bogus, pseudo-NGOs and collect money from there,” Barau said.

He maintained that concerns over the lack of transparency in donor funding had lingered for years and urged lawmakers to ensure the legislation was passed.

Senator Adamu Aliero argued that stricter regulation would not only improve the utilisation of donor funds but also strengthen the confidence of development partners by promoting transparency and accountability.

Drawing from previous oversight activities of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Aliero recalled instances where donor funds were received but their utilisation could not be satisfactorily explained.

He urged that the legislation should expressly cover state governments and NGOs to strengthen the National Assembly’s oversight powers.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, said the proposed law would align Nigeria with global best practices while enhancing donor confidence through greater transparency.

He also warned that inadequate scrutiny of donor-funded activities could create security challenges.

“Most of the aids coming to so-called NGOs are not subjected to scrutiny. We have seen instances where such arrangements create security concerns because we do not know who is accounting for what. Is it insurgents taking money meant for victims?” Musa queried.

He added that the legislation would also distinguish foreign investments from grants, thereby improving fiscal planning and policy coordination.

Former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, insisted that every donor fund entering Nigeria must be fully disclosed, documented and subjected to legislative oversight.

He called for mandatory disclosure of resources transferred to NGOs and civil society organisations, backed by stringent sanctions for non-compliance.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, endorsed the proposal, warning that unregulated foreign funding could constitute a threat to national security if left outside an effective regulatory regime.

Following the debate, the Senate referred the bill to its Committees on National Planning and Economic Development and Finance for further legislative work, directing the panels to submit their report within four weeks.