Guardian

PARTICIPANTS at a one-day workshop on Freedom of Information (FOI) Act held recently in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja have called for the immediate repeal of the Official Secrets Act to guarantee easy implementation of the FOI Act.

They also urged government to promote easy access to information devoid of bureaucratic bottlenecks, by providing practical and workable ways to enable Nigerians access relevant information.

Over a year after the FOI Act was signed into law, the Official Secrets Act is still in existence, but the provisions of the FOI Act has rendered it ineffective. However, media stakeholders have continued to insist that the Official Secrets Act still needs to be repealed to avoid confusion that may arise from two contradictory laws existing side by side.

In a statement issued at the end of the workshop, participants urged office of the Attorney General of the Federation to as a matter of urgency clarify the matter of concurrent legislation with regards to the FOI Act and called on Nigerians to test the FOIA, as judicial interpretation will encourage improved application of the law.

They noted that access to information is key to ensuring accountability and transparency in governance and commended the President Goodluck Jonathan for signing the Act into Law precisely on May 28, 2011.  However, they observed that the success of the FOI Act would rest on the collective participation of government officials, the private sector and the citizenry while ethical conduct and credibility of the media professionals and civil society would help strengthen the implementation of FOIA.

Other resolutions reached at the workshop include the mobilization of necessary budgetary support for all MDA’s to plan, evolve and arrange data into readily usable forms which may be sought by the public from time to time.

Also canvassed was the need for all tiers of government to be encouraged to join forces to guarantee the success of the FOI Act.

Specifically, journalists were admonished to play their critical watchdog role by educating and encouraging the use of the FOIA in reducing corruption and ensuring good governance.

At a similar forum early last month in Lafia, Nassarawa State, participants reached consensus to become agents of change in the state by mainstreaming the FOI Act into their work and using it to engage public institutions and private institutions covered by the law, as part of a broader strategy of enthroning transparency and accountability in governance at the State and local government levels.

They also resolved to conduct “step-down” training workshops on the FOI Act in their localities so that their colleagues, partners, beneficiaries and other stakeholders in their communities will also be better enlightened about the Act.

Held at Ta’al Conference Hotels in Lafia, the one-day sensitisation workshop for representatives of grassroots and civil society organizations was organized by the Media Rights Agenda with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Pact Nigeria.

Its main objective was to build capacity of participants with the sole aim of activating the FoI Act to obtain information of interest to them or that is relevant to their thematic areas of work from public institutions and private entities as well as to monitor the effective implementation of the Law.

The workshop was in line with strategies designed by MRA to ensure the achievement of the broad objective of a project to ensure that the Freedom of Information Act is effectively implemented.

The workshop sessions comprised presentations in plenary sessions and practical exercises in break-out sessions as well as the viewing of a documentary showing how the rural poor in India used their Freedom of Information Law to obtain information about development projects in their communities that were mismanaged.

At the end of the workshop, some of the recommendations include the need to put in place, an administrative sanctions regime by the designated oversight bodies in the FOI Act, particularly the Attorney-General of the Federation and the relevant committees of the National Assembly, to enforce compliance by public institutions with the provisions of Section 2 of the Act which requires all public institutions to proactively publish certain types of information.

Civil society organizations in Nasarawa state were also urged to work collaboratively to engage the Nassarawa State House of Assembly to initiate a process of passing an access to information law for the State as a strategy for strengthening the right to information in the State.

In addition, participants canvassed an engagement with the National Judicial Council to implement a range of activities aimed at sensitizing and raising awareness among judges in the State about the FOI Act.

The Federal Government and all agencies of government were also asked to ensure the effective implementation of the FOI Act, more so when a regime of access to information is known to foster transparency and accountability in government, which can thus reduce corruption, and bring about good governance that engenders sustainable development.

Government agencies, it was also marshaled, should take advantage of the availability and adaptability of ICTs to enhance the effective implementation of the FOI Act, both through proactive disclosures and in dealing with requests for information made under the Act.

Moreover, public institutions were tasked to adopt a holistic approach towards the implementation of the FOI Act, including by establishing common platforms and networks through which they can share information, share best practice experiences and coordinate the resolution of common challenges.

Specifically, civil society organizations and community based organizations in Nassarawa state were charged to take up the challenge of initiating and sustaining efforts to inform, educate and enlighten all layers of stakeholders in the state in a coordinated manner about the FOI Act, how to use it and its potential benefits to them, their communities and the country as a whole.