The Senate has advanced a bill seeking to strengthen government oversight of foreign aid, donor-funded projects and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as lawmakers raised concerns over accountability, transparency and potential national security risks.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe North), passed second reading on Wednesday and aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework for coordinating, monitoring and integrating foreign assistance into Nigeria’s fiscal and development planning.
Leading the debate, Dankwambo said Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest recipients of grants, concessional loans, humanitarian support and technical assistance but lacks a central mechanism for tracking and coordinating such interventions.
He noted that many donor-funded projects are implemented outside the national budget process through ministries, departments, agencies, NGOs and sub-national governments, creating gaps in coordination, accountability and oversight.
The bill proposes the establishment of a National Donor Coordination Framework, mandatory registration of all donor-funded projects, a national database for foreign assistance, integration of donor interventions into government budgets, compulsory public disclosure of funding and implementation details, and sanctions for the diversion, misuse or non-registration of donor funds.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the proposal, arguing that billions of naira channelled through NGOs and state governments have remained largely outside effective public scrutiny.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin said while foreign assistance received directly by the Federal Government is usually captured in the national budget, substantial funds channelled through NGOs and sub-national governments are often beyond public oversight.
“We can’t tell what money goes into the coffers of NGOs. Fraudsters set up bogus NGOs and collect money from there,” he said.
Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno described the bill as timely, while Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, warned that inadequate scrutiny of donor-funded activities could pose security risks.
“Most of the aid going to NGOs is not subjected to adequate scrutiny. We have seen situations where such arrangements create security concerns because we do not know who accounts for the funds,” Musa said.
Former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, also supported the proposal, calling for mandatory disclosure of all donor funds received by NGOs and civil society organisations, backed by strict sanctions for non-compliance.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio endorsed the bill, warning that unregulated foreign funding could threaten national security if left outside an effective regulatory framework.
The bill was subsequently referred to the Senate Committees on National Planning and Economic Development and Finance, which were directed to submit their report within four weeks.
