Only 73 MDAs Complying with FoI Act, Says House

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on
Freedom of Information, Hon. Cornelius Nnaji, has disclosed that
only 73 of the over 900 public institutions in the country are
complying with the provision of Freedom of Information Act (FoIA)
on the disclosure of information.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the coming into effect of
the Freedom of Information Act, Nnaji said that the Official
Secrets Act (OSA) of 1962 has continued to impede the
implementation of the FoIA as it has continued to dominate the
thinking and practice within the public service.

He said public officials have remained unwilling to adhere to
the information structure established under the FoIA despite the
amendment of the OSA of 1962 by FoIA.

He disclosed that 90 per cent of MDAs are not aware of the
existence of the Act or committed to its implementation, a
situation, he said, calls for intensive broad-based awareness
creation by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other
stakeholders on the right to access information through the mass
media to reverse the ugly trend.

According to him, ”The FoIA seeks to enable the public to access
information in the custody of public institutions and relevant
private bodies with a view to entrenching the culture of
transparency and accountable leadership.

The aim of the Act is to make public records and information
more freely available to the public, while also protecting certain
public records and information to the extent that consistent with
overriding public interest as well as protecting serving public
officers from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of
information without authorisation.”

While suggesting that the Freedom of Information units in all
government agencies should be well resourced so that they would
have the requisite capacity to execute their proactive disclosure
mandate, he added that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF)
should ensure effective realization of the objectives of the
Act.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on
Freedom of Information, Hon. Cornelius Nnaji, has disclosed that
only 73 of the over 900 public institutions in the country are
complying with the provision of Freedom of Information Act (FoIA)
on the disclosure of information.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the coming into effect of
the Freedom of Information Act, Nnaji said that the Official
Secrets Act (OSA) of 1962 has continued to impede the
implementation of the FoIA as it has continued to dominate the
thinking and practice within the public service.

He said public officials have remained unwilling to adhere to
the information structure established under the FoIA despite the
amendment of the OSA of 1962 by FoIA.

He disclosed that 90 per cent of MDAs are not aware of the
existence of the Act or committed to its implementation, a
situation, he said, calls for intensive broad-based awareness
creation by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other
stakeholders on the right to access information through the mass
media to reverse the ugly trend.

According to him, ”The FoIA seeks to enable the public to access
information in the custody of public institutions and relevant
private bodies with a view to entrenching the culture of
transparency and accountable leadership.

The aim of the Act is to make public records and information
more freely available to the public, while also protecting certain
public records and information to the extent that consistent with
overriding public interest as well as protecting serving public
officers from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of
information without authorisation.”

While suggesting that the Freedom of Information units in all
government agencies should be well resourced so that they would
have the requisite capacity to execute their proactive disclosure
mandate, he added that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF)
should ensure effective realization of the objectives of the
Act.