The National Assembly has assured Nigerians that it would ensure proper and accelerated implementation of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.
Mr Matthew Omagara, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Reform of Government Institutions, gave the assurance in Lokoja on Wednesday at a two-day sensitisation workshop on Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.
Omagara urged Nigerians to keep faith with the lawmakers in the implementation of the act, saying it would not suffer setbacks like other legislations that had ended in the archives.
?“We are saying loud and clear and to everyone who cares to listen that under our watch and in this 7th National Assembly, the Nigerian Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, 2011, will not be like lots of other laws in our statute books that are not being implemented.
“We call on government to show strong and clearer commitments toward the effective implementation of the FoI Act,” he said.
The committee chairman therefore urged key institutions in the public service to take practical steps toward making the act functional.
Omagara said that the implementation should be built on the proactive disclosure obligations of all public institutions as stated in section 2(3) of the FoI Act.
Also speaking, Dr John Alabi, one of the resource persons, pointed out that enforcement of the act largely depended on attitude of civil servants toward it, and urged them to be more committed to its success.
He said that politicians might be tempted to frustrate the implementation of the act but commitment on the part of civil servants would ensure efficacy of the law.
“Your functions, as indispensable as they are, glaringly reflect on the quality of the overall implementation of this good piece of legislation which will definitely promote good governance, greater openness and full participatory democracy.”
Opening the seminar, Gov. Idris Wada promised to operate a transparent, open and accountable government, which according to him, is the whole essence of the FoI Act.
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