EU, British Council Train CSOs on Compliance with Regulatory Frameworks

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

The European Union (EU) in collaboration with the British Council has organised two-day training in Plateau State for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on compliance with CSO regulatory framework.

The workshop, which focused on the need to engage compliance officers with prescribed qualifications, also emphasised on the need to always file reports of annual returns and ensuring up-to-date remittance of taxes to the appropriate quarters.

The training, which was at the instance of the European Union (EU) – Agents for Citizens-driven Transformation (ACT) programme in conjunction with the British Council focused on corporate governance and CAMA 2020, Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (SCUML); Pensions Regulations, CAMA and FIRS; SCUML and Pensions.

The resource person, Professor Adedeji Adekunle, and representatives of Corporate Affair Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Special Control Unit against Money Laundry (SCUML), and PenCom took time to thoroughly educate the trainees on the essence of the workshop.

Adekunle said that the basic need for the training was for the CSOs to be responsible to comply with necessary laws, adding that the NGOs and the developing partners were careful not to be accused of funding organizations that breach national regulations.

He said:”We observed that the level of compliance of some CSOs to certain regulations was quite discouraging: we try to take them through the steps of compliance and of course, emphasize on the importance. You cannot be an agent of citizen transformation without being a good citizen yourself.

“The unique feature of this workshop is the presence of the regulators themselves having a direct interaction with the CSOs while proffering solutions and advice to some issues so that by the end of the training, the CSOs will have a reformed mindset”.

 Also speaking, Detective Superintendent, Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Mr. Yahaya Ibrahim, stressed on the need for NGOs to be transparent and follow the rules to avoid issues of money laundering

“For instance, when you talk about anti-money laundering, it’s important that when some of these NGOs receive money from external bodies, they should report what they receive because a number of organisations have been implicated in receiving money from abroad and these funds were channeled to terrorism financing.

“So, these are the reasons it’s critical that NGOs and CSOs comply with all the laws, and that is what we are trying to do in this workshop”, Ibrahim explained.

According to one of the trainees,  Team Leader of Community Initiative for Sustainable Development (COIN), Mr. Bande Steven said: “The training has enabled us to ask some of the questions that have been bugging us before now. We are now aware of the steps and channels to follow to comply with the regulations to avoid troubles in the future”

Also speaking, Programme  Manager, Centre for Peace Advancement in Nigeria (CEPAN) Jummia Fidelis said that the training has served as an eye opener to easily detect fraudulent acts. “As an NGO, we should be able to comply with all regulations as regards financial reports, documentations and appropriate activities.”