Echoes from the just concluded National Conference on Civil Society Regulatory Environment in Nigeria

The three-day (13^th – 15^th September 2022) National Conference on Civil Society Regulatory Environment in Nigeria brought together various actors from the civil society sector and government, including regulatory agencies and legislators, as well as donors and other stakeholders, to discuss pertinent issues that affect the effectiveness and impact of the civil society sector from the point of view of enabling a conducive regulatory environment for CSO operations in the country.

Catholic Institute for Development Justice, Peace and Caritas (CIDJAP Enugu was represented at the Conference by her Deputy Director, Rev. Fr. Ambrose Ofodile.

The Conference was held at NAF Conference Center and Suites, 1 Safiya T. Umar Street, Kado, Abuja.

The broad objective of the Conference was to create an opportunity for stakeholders to synergise efforts at improving the CSO regulatory environment.

The Conference aimed at generating shared understanding and collective perspectives by stakeholders on appropriate instruments of regulation and effective processes to regulate CSOs operation in Nigeria, as well as increasing broad public awareness about the roles of CSOs and the need for an enabling regulatory environment to protect the sector from repressive legislation.

This convergence is the first of its kind to provide a neutral platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue and ensure that all relevant opinions from all concerned groups are holistically collected.

It is therefore hoped that the Conference will develop comprehensive recommendations arising from the resolutions reached and agree on modalities for implementing the recommendations.

The National Conference on Civil Society Operational Environment was supported with funding from the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS and the Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT) Programme, which the British Council implements.

CIDJAP is grateful to EU-ACT for being selected among the CSOs partnering with them in Enugu state and amongst the organisations that attended the Conference.

The Conference was enriching and held a lot of prospects for the developed and emerging CSOs. It was impactful, and the knowledge gathered from it will be effectively applied in our organisation.

Rev. Fr. Ambrose Ofodile
CIDJAP, Enugu