·As stakeholders deliberate on draft copy

By Elizabeth Adegbesan

The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRC, said it is looking forward to the eventual release of the Nigeria Not-For-Profit Governance Code (NNFPGC) this year.

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, FRC, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, disclosed this yesterday at a stakeholder engagement on the draft copy of the code.

“From the foregoing, it is noteworthy that your active dialogue and engagement at this critical stage of the code development is key as we move and look forward to the eventual release of the Nigeria Not-for-Profit Governance Code, this year with your support and God, helping us. 

“This Code establishes guidelines for board composition, financial management, sustainability practices, stakeholder engagement, fundraising and reserve management, diversity, equality and non-discrimination, among other key issues, which are essential for building trust with donor.”

He noted that trust is important in Nigeria, where corruption and mismanagement have historically undermined public confidence in institutions.

Citing the Transparency International  Index, Olowo said that Nigeria ranked 154 out of 180 countries with a score of 24/100 based  2021 (Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

According to him, the code would enhance transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct within the non-profit sector in Nigeria. 

During the engagement, stakeholders expressed concerns on various aspects of the draft code such as overregulation, one-side-fits-all, absence of monitoring and evaluation, problems with the independent auditor in financial management among other things.

Commenting on some of the issues raised, Partner KPMG, Mr. Tolu Odukale, stated: “I think that there is a risk of having one-size-fits-all here and I will say that that is one of the things that we try to work against and that is the reason why you look at each of the principles and each of the specific expectations that they are defined in different forms for different categories of the organization in a special way to make sure that we are not pushing to one-size-fits-all.”