North-east CSOs Urged to Adopt Self-Regulation, Improve Public Trust
By Auwal Ahmad Umar
Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria’s North-east have been urged to adopt self-regulation and strengthen internal accountability to improve public trust, promote transparency and enhance their effectiveness.
Harry Udoh, Team Lead of the Ethics and Good Leadership Awareness Initiative (EGLAI), made the call during a regional onboarding workshop in Yola, Adamawa State, aimed at deepening the adoption and implementation of CSO self-regulation across the region.
The workshop was supported by the European Union-funded CSO Strengthening Bridge Project.
Mr Udoh said the programme followed an earlier engagement held in February and was designed to equip selected champions with the knowledge and skills to promote ethical standards, good governance and accountability within civil society organisations.
He said participants drawn from the six North-east states were expected to share the knowledge acquired with other CSO networks and organisations to expand the initiative’s reach.
“Self-regulation is about getting civil society organisations to discipline themselves by looking at their governance, financial management and operational policies,” he said.
Mr Udoh stressed that developing policies alone was insufficient, explaining that organisations must demonstrate their commitment by applying the provisions in their daily activities.
He said responsible financial management, ethical conduct and transparent decision-making were essential to building credible organisations and strengthening their relationships with government institutions, donors and the communities they serve.
According to him, CSOs play important roles in Nigeria’s development through job creation, humanitarian assistance, support for vulnerable populations and the provision of services to underserved communities.
He particularly highlighted the contributions of civil society organisations in the North-east, where humanitarian and development groups support people affected by insecurity and other emergencies.
Explaining the framework guiding the initiative, Mr Udoh said CSOs agreed in 2023 to adopt a harmonised code of conduct covering governance, resource management, conflict of interest, safeguarding and ethical standards.
He said the framework provides for peer accountability, organisational self-assessment and information disclosure to help organisations evaluate their performance and demonstrate compliance with established standards.
According to him, self-assessment enables organisations to determine whether their operations comply with the code of conduct and applicable national regulations.
He added that information disclosure encourages organisations to make relevant details of their activities, financial statements and audited accounts available to stakeholders.
Mr Udoh said accountability should extend beyond donor agencies to include government institutions, staff, peer organisations and the beneficiaries of projects.
“You are not only going to be accountable to the donors, but you need to be accountable to government, your peers, the staff of your organisation and the beneficiaries of the work that you do,” he said.
He explained that broader accountability would help organisations earn public confidence, maintain their legitimacy and respond more effectively to the needs of the communities they serve.
The EGLAI team lead identified inadequate knowledge of legal and administrative requirements as one of the challenges affecting compliance among some civil society organisations.
He said the self-regulation initiative was designed to address these gaps by helping organisations strengthen their internal systems and understand their obligations under relevant regulations, including those administered by the Corporate Affairs Commission and tax authorities.
While acknowledging the need for government oversight of the civil society sector, Mr Udoh cautioned against introducing additional legislation without adequately considering existing regulatory frameworks.
He argued that overlapping regulations could impose unnecessary administrative burdens on organisations already subject to multiple compliance requirements.
Referring to proposed legislation on foreign non-governmental organisations, he questioned the need for additional provisions where similar requirements might already be covered by existing laws and regulatory institutions.
He, however, emphasised that self-regulation was not intended to shield CSOs from legitimate oversight but to encourage greater discipline, transparency and compliance within the sector.
Mr Udoh expressed optimism that sustained implementation of the framework would strengthen civil society organisations’ capacity to contribute to national development and hold public institutions accountable.
He urged participants to translate the lessons from the workshop into practical improvements within their organisations and encourage other CSOs to adopt the framework.
Also speaking, Shuibu Ibrahim, a participant from Maiduguri, said self-regulation would only be effective if organisations moved beyond drafting policies to ensuring that employees understood and applied them in their daily work.
Mr Ibrahim observed that many non-governmental and development organisations had formal policy documents, but their provisions were not always adequately understood or consistently implemented by operational staff.
He said effective institutional governance required organisations to integrate ethical conduct, transparency and peer accountability into their routine activities rather than treat compliance as a paperwork exercise.
He urged participants to share the knowledge gained at the workshop with colleagues and partner organisations that were unable to attend.
Mr Ibrahim commended EGLAI and its funding partners, including the European Union, for supporting efforts to address capacity gaps in the humanitarian and development sectors.
He said the workshop had helped simplify complex organisational and operational frameworks, making them easier to understand and apply in strengthening governance and accountability within civil society organisations.
