The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has called on the Coalition of Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to come under one body that would regulate their activities for a smooth disbursement of grants, especially international grants.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the unit, Tukur Modibbo, made the call at the 2021 International Day of Charity conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
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Modibbo, who was represented by the Head of Compliance and Examination at NFIU, Ibrahim Muhammed, said between January and August 2021, only 64 NGOs out of the scores operating in the country had come up for registration.
He noted that this development was not good for the smooth running of NGOs’ activities, saying some NGOs were sometimes used as a cover-up to exploit grants from donor agencies, and called for due diligence in all their activities.
“NGOs have abused the structure to get grants as some have been indicted for diverting grants meant for salvaging the poor people. These people are in the same space who are exploiting these grants and they must not be allowed to destroy the structure of the organisations,” he said.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, represented by the Special Assistant to the President on Financial Crimes, Abiodun Aikomo, also called for the regulation of the NGOs space while seeking strong collaboration towards strengthening developmental ideas.
NGO operator and President of Globaltech Empowerment Foundation Dr Godwin Asogbon urged the government to put activities of NGOs under surveillance to identify those that take advantage of donor grants to exploit citizens.
