The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has charged
Nigerians on the need to harness the provisions of the Freedom of Information
(FOI) Act to demand and foster transparency and good governance at the local,
state and federal levels.
Oyo State director of the agency, Mrs. Dolapo Dosunmu, gave the charge recently
during a stakeholders’ engagement on evaluating the application of the FOI Act
and its impact on national development, held at the agency’s headquarters,
Agodi, Ibadan.
Mrs. Dosunmu, who stated that the Freedom of Information Act is not for the
press alone, maintained that the law provided equal rights to every citizen of
the country to have access to public information regardless of profession,
vocation or tribe.
“Aside impact assessment, this gathering is also for further sensitisation of
the general public on how they can harness the provisions of FOI. This also
includes private institutions utilising public funds and handling public
projects and programmes. “Citizens are empowered by this law to monitor
whatever projects or programmes being undertaken in their communities with a
view to ensuring that they get the correct value for whatever public funds
expended,” she observed.
“This law, however, frowned at frivolities, blackmail and which-hunting of
political opponents or business rivals. The FOI Act also provides immunity for
whistleblowers where the information disclosed is done in good faith. The
Federal Government has also strengthened this with the whistleblowing policy,
which in addition to protecting whistleblowers also provides for monitoring
compensation for information that leads to recovery of looted public funds,”
Dosumu added.
The NOA Director noted that the gathering would afford stakeholders the
opportunity of doing an honest appraisal of the application of the FoI Act by
public institutions among other things, required to keep proper records and
undertake proactive disclosure of information through newsletters, handbooks,
operational guidelines and annual reports, detailing their activities, projects
and programmes as well as total amount of public funds released.
The state Commissioner for Information, Mass
Mobilization, Culture, and Tourism, Dr.
Wasiu Olatunbosun, in his address, advised
Nigerians to be deeply involved in the application of
the FoI Act for the development of the nation.
Representatives of the various stakeholders and associations at the forum
commended the agency for its initiative and pledged to ensure that
their members make use of the freedom of information Act judiciously.