Awka – Despite having been in place for the past 10 years now, the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act has not been fully explored to bring about transparency in government and public systems in Nigeria.
This is according to the Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Anambra State Directorate, Barrister Charles Nwoji, who spoke on Wednesday, at a one-day stakeholders’ round table on understanding and application of the FOI Act, organized by NOA, in Awka.
The FOI Act, which was passed into law by the National Assembly in 2011, intends that citizens of the country should have unfettered access to information required from any public institution.
The rationale behind this is to ensure public participation in governance, opening the business of governance to public scrutiny, adherence to laid down procedures in the conduct of public affairs, institutionalizing transparency and accountability in governance, stemming corruption and untoward practices in the system and judicious deployment of scarce resources for the wellbeing of the citizens.
But according to Nworji, all these lofty intents and expectations of the Law cannot be achieved, unless the provisions of the FOIA is clearly understood and given effect by citizens, civil societies, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, who are required to influence public opinion.
“Laws remain dormant until its provisions are given effect by the duty bearers. It is necessary that the Nigerian citizens understand what the rationale for such a law is, its ultimate objectives, what benefits accrue to them for using it, what they lose by non-compliance and what specific roles are expected of them. Laws are made but if they are not put in practice, they amount to nothing,” Nworji posited
The Anambra NOA Director attributed the inability of the masses to explore the provisions of the law to achieve transparency and accountability, to lack of knowledge and understanding of the law, adding the roundtable has become important to drive the expansion of information on the Act and its full application.
“The forum presents one of the opportunities through which the Agency engages public perception and opinion on government policies and activities, to positive influence their formation and implementation,” he said.
Speaking on the theme of the forum, “Promoting Transparency, Accountability and Stewardship in Government,” Barr Nworji revealed that Anambra was among the States in Nigeria that benefited in the pilot exercise of a sensitization programme on the provisions, application and benefits of the FOIA, covering one hundred and forty-six selected Local Government Areas in the Country.
“The programme was run by the NOA in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) and that effort has continued to widen with the support of other well- meaning Organizations,” he said.
In a presentation, the State Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalist, Comrade Emma Ifesinachi, represented by the Secretary of the Union, Comrade Emma Udeagha, described the FOIA 2011as one of the most potent tools in the hands of Nigerian Media for the fight against corruption and installation of a regime of accountability in the Country.
He emphasized that the Nigerian Journalist as the bulwark of the society, has a greater responsibility to ensure that the citizens have access to information by utilizing the opportunities offered to them by the FOIA Act to access information for the public consumption.
In their separate remarks, the Chairman, Anambra Civil Society Network, Prince Chris Azor, challenged Nigerian Journalist to rise to their constitutional rights and work towards saving the nation from what he described as opacity and death, while the General Manager, Ogene FM, Awka, Mr. Justice Amah, identified censorship by Government, intimidation and denial of information as some of the factors mitigating the effective application of the FOIA Act in the country.
