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Representatives of federal public institutions in Nigeria praised the British Council’s Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption -ROLAC program (funded by the European Union) for its support in developing and validating a Proactive Disclosure Protocol for the Freedom of Information Act (FOI).
Speaking at a 2-day meeting to validate a draft proactive disclosure protocol for the freedom of information law, held in Abuja over the weekend, the head of the unit of the Freedom of Information Federal Department of Justice, Gowon Ichibor described the FOI proactive disclosure protocol. as timely and capable of adding value to JTF compliance in Nigeria.
He reiterated the commitment of the office of the Honorable Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federation to vigorously implement the Nigerian Freedom of Information Law, while urging citizens to use the law to ask questions about government activities.
He further described the Proactive Disclosure Protocol as a real tool that will improve the compliance of public institutions with their proactive disclosure obligation, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Speaking earlier, Emmanuel Uche, head of rule of law and anti-corruption, compared corruption to darkness, describing the FAITH law as capable of dispelling darkness.
He also called on Nigerians to use the FOI law to hold the government to account, while urging public institutions to comply with their proactive disclosure obligation under the FOI law, as well as other articles of the law. law.
In his presentation on the essence of the Proactive Disclosure Protocol for Public Institutions, ROLAC’s lead consultant on Freedom of Information Law, Dr Walter Duru, described proactive disclosure as a legal obligation under the freedom of information law with which public institutions are required to comply.
Citing Article 2 of the Freedom of Information Act, Duru, who is also executive director of the Media Initiative against Injustice, Violence and Corruption-MIIVOC and chairs the Board of Directors of Freedom of Information Coalition in Nigeria, explained that “Section 2 of the Freedom of Information Act (2011) makes a legal obligation for public institutions to disclose certain categories of information proactively.
According to him, “the ability of public institutions to comply with the proactive disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act gives real meaning to section 2 of the Act”.
The proactive disclosure protocol provides for nine procedures to comply with the proactive disclosure section of the Freedom of Information Act. It also has a compliance checklist, as per FOI law.
Reiterating ROLAC’s huge investments in promoting good governance in Nigeria, ROLAC program manager Pwanakei Dala explained that the organization’s interventions on freedom of information and other good governance initiatives overlap five states of Kano, Lagos, Adamawa, Anambra and Edo, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, targeting federal public institutions and non-state actors.
Tabling their respective motions for the adoption of the protocol, the representative of the Civil Liberties Organization, Chidi Ekpewerechi and his counterpart from the public institutions of the Office of Civil Service Reforms, Eghe Ekpe described the proactive disclosure protocol as a tool. necessary for better compliance with Section 2 of the FOI Act, even as they joined their colleagues in congratulating ROLAC on the response.
Mr. Ekpewerechi’s motion for adoption, on behalf of civil society actors, was seconded by Francis Ndimkoha of Citizens’ Quest for good governance; while Ekpe’s motion on behalf of public institutions was seconded by Juliet Achebe of the National Guidance Agency.
Highlights of the 2-day meeting were formal motions from state and non-state actors adopting and validating the Proactive Disclosure Protocol, congratulations on ROLAC by participants for its continued support during the implementation of the FAITH in Nigeria, among others.
No less than one hundred (100) public institutions and civil society organizations participated in this 2-day event.
Recall that the law on freedom of information was promulgated on the 28e of May 2011. The law seeks to make certain public documents more freely accessible to citizens, although it allows citizens to hold the government to account.
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