Senate seeks to regulate foreign donations, data base on aid

The Senate has raised serious concerns about the intentions of some foreign financial donations entering the country through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs).

Consequently, it has moved to regulate the operations of donors and donor agencies using such organisations as fronts to send funds into the country for various purposes.

A bill seeking to regulate the operations of foreign aid donors and establish a national database for such donations passed its second reading on Wednesday on the floor of the Senate.

Titled “A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Regulation, Coordination, Transparency and Disclosure of Foreign Aid, Grants and Donations in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2026”, the proposed legislation was sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo.

The bill aims to strengthen the regulation, coordination and accountability of foreign aid in Nigeria.

It also seeks to establish a mandatory registration system and a national database for all foreign aid entering the country to facilitate proper tracking and monitoring of how such funds are utilised.

As part of the implementation process, the bill proposes that foreign aid-funded projects be integrated into the national budget framework and aligned with the country’s development priorities.

Dankwambo, a former Accountant-General of the Federation, told the Senate that Nigeria remained one of the largest recipients of foreign aid in the form of grants, technical assistance, humanitarian support and concessional financing from bilateral and multilateral development partners.

Although he commended the contributions of donor support to sectors such as health, education, agriculture and humanitarian response, Dankwambo insisted that Nigeria’s foreign aid system had not been sufficiently open to scrutiny, raising concerns about the overall intentions of some donors.

He cited instances of donor-funded projects being implemented across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) outside the national budget framework, resulting in duplication or misalignment with national development priorities.

Among other provisions, the bill seeks the mandatory registration of all foreign aid in a national database; the integration of donor-funded projects into national planning and budgeting; public disclosure of funding agreements, disbursement schedules, project outcomes and audit reports; as well as sanctions for non-registration, diversion or misuse of funds, false disclosures and the implementation of unapproved projects.

As the bill passed its second reading, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, echoed concerns about the real aims of some donors, especially in the context of the security challenges Nigeria has faced in recent years.

For instance, he said the prolonged Boko Haram insurgency and other forms of violent crime raised questions about the work of some donor agencies that had rented office accommodation for up to 15 years.

“Most of these bodies coming into the country as foreign donations are not for the good of the country,” he stated.

“If there was no oxygen, Boko Haram would not exist.”