Lawyer and human right Activist, Ms Ayo Obe has joined the increasing list of those opposed to the proposed NGO Regulation Bill currently at the committee stage in the House of Representatives.

In an interview with Sahara Reporters on Friday, September 29, 2017, she said supporters of the bill are merely seeking a way of silencing individuals and organisations that are constantly questioning actions of the government especially those of legislators who haven’t been able to account for how they are using funds meant for their constituents.

Moving further, “I find the bill so absolutely ridiculous and a complete dereliction of duty. If an organization is set up to fund terrorism, it’s not going to register and won’t pass its funds through a registration process so this is already a problem for the bill. If the government knows how terrorism is being funded, they ought to do something about it instead of setting up a bureaucracy that Nigeria cannot afford to oppress people who want to improve lives of Nigeria people.

“What has the House of Representatives done to find out from the Nigeria Police or the intelligence agencies what they have done to prevent this kind of use by NGOs if they are being used to fund terrorism?”

She also revealed that the bill will not stand in the way of Nigerians whenever they need to hold the government accountable on how they expend funds and policies that are made. She further upheld that the NGO bill couldn’t stop Nigerians from forming organisation because the provision has been made available in the country’s constitution.

Editor