“One Registry, Fewer Fees And Less Bureaucracy” — Akwa Ibom Assembly Advances Bill To Harmonise CSO Registration

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has begun considering a bill that would create a central registration system for civil society organisations and community-based organisations operating across the state, in an effort to end multiple registration demands, overlapping levies and delays faced by groups dealing with different government agencies.

The proposed legislation, titled “A Bill for a Law to Establish the Akwa Ibom State Civil Society Organisations Registry and Provide for the Harmonisation of Registrations and Related Matters,” passed its first reading during plenary on Wednesday. It is sponsored by the Deputy Speaker and member representing Itu State Constituency, KufreAbasi Edidem.

If eventually passed into law, the bill would establish a single framework through which civil society and community-based organisations can be recognised and registered for their activities in Akwa Ibom.

The proposed system would cover organisations involved in charitable and humanitarian work, advocacy, research, human rights, public sensitisation and other public-interest activities. It would also apply to organisations already registered with, or seeking registration through, ministries, departments and agencies of the state government.

At the centre of the proposal is an attempt to replace the current situation in which an organisation may be required to register or make payments to more than one government institution before carrying out its activities.

Under the bill, registrations would instead be harmonised through a central registry.

The legislation also seeks to protect CSOs from multiple fees and levies, except charges recognised under Akwa Ibom State’s harmonised tax laws. The intention is to give organisations a clearer process while allowing government to maintain an identifiable record of groups lawfully operating in the state.

For civil society groups that have complained for years about repeatedly submitting similar documents to different agencies and paying overlapping charges, the proposal reflects an issue they had already placed before the government and lawmakers.

The move follows months of advocacy by civil society organisations in the state for a single, transparent and legally backed registration regime.

In July, CSOs meeting under the Community of Practice on Civic Space Strengthening, with support from Global Rights, called for a central registry that would eliminate multiple registration requirements and overlapping government levies.

Their concerns were raised during a town hall meeting on the draft Civil Society Organisation Registration Bill 2026.

Participants at the meeting also called for the registration process to be digitised, arguing that an online registration and directory system could reduce physical contact, unnecessary delays and opportunities for improper demands associated with a completely manual process.

The groups went further by asking lawmakers to build safeguards into the proposed system so that the registry itself would not become another mechanism for excessive government control over independent organisations.

Among the proposals raised during the consultation was that civil society organisations should be allowed to nominate three members of a five-member registry board and that all members of the board should have equal voting rights.

Those proposals reflected a concern among advocates that while harmonising registration could reduce bureaucracy, the body administering the system would also need enough independence to retain the confidence of the organisations it regulates.

Global Rights, which supported the civil society consultations that preceded the bill, has welcomed its first reading.

In a statement signed by its Programme Manager, Noya Sedi, the organisation described the legislative step as progress towards creating a clearer and more predictable operating environment for civil society groups in Akwa Ibom.

Global Rights also commended the Akwa Ibom Steering Committee, the Community of Practice and other civil society actors that participated in consultations and advocacy surrounding the proposal.

It equally acknowledged the House of Assembly and sponsors of the bill for allowing civil society organisations to participate in the process leading to the legislation.

“We look forward to continued engagement with the Assembly and other stakeholders as the Bill progresses, with the shared objective of establishing a fair, transparent and predictable framework for CSO registration and operations in Akwa Ibom,” Sedi said.

The Akwa Ibom proposal is emerging at a time when regulation of civil society organisations is receiving wider attention nationally.

On the same day the development in Akwa Ibom was reported, civil society groups were also challenging the proposed federal Foreign Aid (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill 2026, with critics arguing that some of its provisions could give government excessive control over independent organisations and restrict civic space.

The Akwa Ibom bill has, so far, taken a different path.

Rather than being opposed by the civil society community, the proposal grew out of demands by CSOs themselves for a simpler registration structure and has been developed through consultations involving civil society actors and other stakeholders.

That does not mean the proposal has become law.

Having passed only its first reading, the bill must still proceed through further legislative stages, where lawmakers will have an opportunity to debate its provisions and stakeholders may make further submissions before any final passage.

Questions surrounding the composition and independence of the proposed registry, the extent of its powers, the fees organisations may be required to pay and whether registration can be completed digitally are therefore likely to remain part of the discussion as the bill moves forward.

If enacted in the form being proposed, the system would give Akwa Ibom a central register of CSOs and community-based organisations while reducing the need for the same organisation to repeatedly navigate different state agencies for recognition.

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