The rising cases of insecurity, youth unemployment and restiveness plaguing Nigeria have placed huge responsibility for a deliberate action by the country’s Civil Society Organizations.
It is in view of this that the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption, RoLAC, Program, organized a review meeting, with support from the European Union and funded by the British Council, for Civil Society Organizations and Media on implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in Anambra State.
Blessing Uchendu reports that Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Act was signed into law on May twenty-eight, 2011.
The law was passed to enable the public have access to certain government information in order to ensure transparency and accountability as well as to give every Nigerian a legal right to access information, records and documents held by government and private bodies carrying out public functions.
In a paper presentation, a Lecturer from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Dr Olaifa Temitope, who spoke on ” FOI Act and the Role of the Civil Society in Entrenching an Open Society in Nigeria”, listed some of the functions of the CSOs in the Implementation of FOl Act to include collaboration with citizens in the area of enlightenment, making FOI requests and organizing FOI Act Seminars for political representatives at the local, state and national assemblies.
On his part, the Chairman, Freedom of Information Coalition, Dr Walter Duru, enlisted the benefits of the FOI to include, guaranteeing openness in governance, enabling citizens to participate actively in governance, reducing corruption in governance and promoting quality in service delivery.
In her remark, the State Program Coordinator, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Program, Mrs Josephine Onah, said that the review meeting was to assess the level of implementation of the FOI Act by stakeholders who have been trained earlier on the purpose and benefits of the FOI Act as well as to understand the challenges encountered in the implementation within the period under review.
Some participants, including Dr Dennis Ekemezie and Mrs Freeman Ugochi,commended the ROLAC Program and promised to strive towards contributing to the implemention the FOI Act.
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