SERAP, NGE raise the alarm over N20m foreign aid bill penalty

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have threatened legal action over the proposed Foreign Aids (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill, 2026, describing it as an unlawful assault on civic space, media freedom and democratic participation.

In a joint open letter dated August 29, 2026, and signed by SERAP deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, and NGE general secretary, Mr Onuoha Ukeh, the organisations urged the Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to “immediately reject and withdraw” the bill.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (PDP, Gombe North), proposes mandatory registration and disclosure requirements for organisations receiving foreign assistance and prescribes sanctions, including a minimum fine of N20 million, suspension or revocation of operating licences and possible imprisonment.

SERAP and NGE warned that the proposed FARC would wield sweeping powers over foreign-funded NGOs, media and private entities, while creating what they described as an extensive framework for government control under the guise of transparency.

They argued that the proposed legislation is unnecessary and duplicative, warning that it would place an additional financial burden on public resources through the creation of another regulatory body.

They stated that Nigeria already has a competent legal and institutional framework for corporate registration, financial reporting, taxation, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption enforcement through agencies such as the Corporate Affairs Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, among other competent authorities.

They added that nothing in the proposed bill suggests that these existing institutions are incapable of carrying out their statutory duties or that any regulatory gap exists to justify the establishment of another agency with overlapping and potentially intrusive powers.