Freedom Of Information Act: Time For Buhari To Wake Up, Make Law Compulsory – Dr. Duru

By Igbotako Nowinta – Alltimepost.com Nigeria Bureau Chief

President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to wake up to the responsibility of making the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI A) compulsory at the Federal Executive Council level in Nigeria.

It is the only way to ensure 100% compliance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies so that the present war on corruption and impunity in Nigeria will have meaningful impact on the society.

Dr. Walter Duru, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Freedom of Information Act, Coalition Nigeria (FOIACN) made the call during a two-day Media Roundtable talk on Anti-Corruption held in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria last week.

Dr. Duru, a Communication expert regretted that since the FOI A was signed into law in 2011 by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan the level of compliance has been abysmally low.

He said that stakeholders like the media, lawyers and civil society activists are not asking questions they should have asked to make public officers accountable to the people of Nigeria.

“Looking at the body language of President Muhammadu Buhari today, he can do better, the earlier he wakes up the better,” he posited.

“There is no reason why President Buhari should not make the FOI Act compulsory at the Federal Executive Council.

Part of the problem we have is bureaucracy, over the years we have seen leaders doing one thing and saying another thing.”
Dr. Duru said the FOI Act was a veritable tool for Nigeria’s anti-corruption war; that the level of compliance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies was very low looking at the demand and supply of the issue.

According to the frontline FOI Act campaigner: “Corruption and impunity seem to grow because people are not asking questions…The FOI Act Coalition Nigeria is interested in open, accountable and transparent society.”

The Two Day Round Table Conference was sponsored and organized by Justice For All and the Department for International Development (DFID).

It afforded participants, drawn from the media, legal practitioners and civil society activists across the South-South zone of the country to build their capacities and intervene proactively in order to take advantage of the FOI Act to mobilize Nigerians.

Dr. Duru emphasized the point that politicians should be able to engage the general public positively and that the FOI Act Coalition Nigeria will never let stakeholders down if they run to its secretariat for assistance or support in the course of asking questions as stipulated by the legislation.

Finally, the communications expert noted that the FOI Act protects the public officer required by law to give out the needed information, and urged well- meaning Nigerians to equally study it to know its importance to the overall development of the country.