By Joseph Ebi Kanjo, Benin

Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Samson Osagie, on Monday said that any state government that desires to achieve true accountability and citizen engagement
must throw open the windows of its public institutions.

Osagie spoke at a South South Regional Roundtable on 14 years of Freedom of Information Act in Nigeria organized by the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) in collaboration with the Edo State Ministry of Justice.

Represented by Mr. Festus Usiobaifo, Principal Counsel, Edo State Ministry of Justice, the Attorney General, while noting that his ministry, has, over time, “supported disclosures through inter-agency cooperation, training of public officers on compliance, and advisory opinions that promote openness in governance,” stressed that there is room for improvement.

He added: “Our ministries, departments, and agencies must not wait to be asked before releasing public information.

“Data on budgets, contracts, procurements, and public health, for instance, should be available by default.”

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Earlier, in her welcome address, Executive Director, CTA, Faith Nwadishi, noted that the regional roundtable was part of a broader effort under the “Strengthening Accountability and Governance in Nigeria Initiative (SAGNI)—a 12-month project we are implementing with support from the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (RoLAC) and funding from the European Union through International IDEA.”

The ED, representated by Mr. MacDonald Ekemezie, Programme/Communication Manager of CTA, added that the regional roundtable became necessary “because the challenges around access to public information in Nigeria have reached a critical stage,”

She further noted: “Even with efforts made by CSOs, some ministries and agencies, it is still difficult to obtain clear, timely, and complete information from most government agencies especially at the sub-national level and Local Government Areas.”

The ED lamented that fourteen years after the signing of the FOI, its implementation remains weak, and that many citizens are not aware of it or does not know its usage.

“Fourteen years later, we must ask ourselves, ‘How far have we really come? Yes, there has been progress. But implementation remains weak. Many public institutions still operate in a culture of secrecy, while some are yet to establish the FOI unit.

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“Some websites are inactive even when the laws require proactive disclosures of information by MDAs. Some agencies both at the federal and sub-national levels outrightly refuse to respond to FOI requests,” she said

On the level of usage amongst citizens, the ED said “from our work and recent baseline study in Anambra, Edo, and the FCT, we have seen the same patterns over and over again:
Over 70% of respondents have never used the FOI Act.

“Only 45.8% know how to apply for information.
Among those who have tried, over 75% received no response.
Youth, women, and persons with disabilities—some of our most critical voices—remain largely unaware or unsure of how to use this tool.”

In his goodwill message, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council, Comrade Festus Alenkhe, lamented that despite ascension by President of Nigeria and recent judgement by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, many states are yet to fully implement or respond to FOI request.

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On his part, Dr. Jude Obasanmi, Chief Responsibility Officer, Jose Maria Escriva Foundation (JOSEF)., said based on the review at the roundtable, there was a need for continuous and sustained engagement because “people should not define the benefit of the law based on their comfort zone”.

“Today, there is a governor and tomorrow another person will be governor. So, let us put a mechanism in place, such that if tomorrow that person is not there, such law they enacted would also be beneficial to them after leaving office.”

He said though they have achieved a level of success, there is room for more engagement to carry more people along in FOI implementation.