Senate Advances Bill To Regulate Foreign Aid, Seeks National Database, Questions NGO Funding

 

The Senate has adopted key resolutions aimed at strengthening the regulation, coordination and accountability of foreign aid in Nigeria, approving the establishment of a mandatory registration system and a national database for all foreign aid received in the country.

The upper chamber also resolved that all foreign aid-funded projects must be integrated into the national budget framework and aligned with Nigeria’s development priorities to ensure better coordination, transparency and value for money.

The resolutions followed the lead debate on the 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, sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe North).

Leading the debate, Senator Dankwambo said Nigeria remains 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.

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While acknowledging the contributions of donor support to sectors such as health, education, agriculture and humanitarian response, he argued that the country’s foreign aid system remains fragmented, poorly coordinated and lacking in transparency.

According to him, many donor-funded projects are implemented across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) outside the national budget framework, with some duplicated or misaligned with national development priorities, thereby reducing efficiency and undermining public confidence.

Among the bill’s key provisions are 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.

In his remarks, Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said the proposed legislation had become necessary to ensure proper scrutiny of foreign aid and the activities of organisations receiving donor funds.

Senator Akpabio argued that the prolonged insurgency by Boko Haram raised questions about the flow of external assistance, saying the continued existence of the terrorist group suggested that it had sustained sources of support.

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

He added that foreign aid and the operations of some non-governmental organisations should be closely scrutinised to ensure accountability and transparency.

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