Leadership (Abuja)
19 June 2008
Abuja — Secretary of the Labour Party, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, yesterday in Abuja, called on the National Assembly to sensitise Nigerians to what the Freedom of Information bill entails.
"The lawmakers need to make Nigerians be aware of not only the importance of the bill but also why it is necessary", Abdulsalam said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
"Nigerians need to know that the bill is for the good of all. Those who want the bill passed, would have to lobby, enlighten and educate people to get what they want", he said.
Abdulsalam said the manner in which the bill was being presented, made it look as if without it the Nigerian press could not operate.
"Not only the press, but all Nigerians should ask why the bill has not been passed in the last nine years", he said.
The Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) was passed by the two Chambers of the National Assembly and sent for assent during the second term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
But the former president withheld his assent on the FOI bill, which necessitated its re-presentation to the two chambers of the National Assembly for passage.
Reviewing the activities of the House of Representatives in the last one year, Rep Dino Melaye, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, had assured Nigerians that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill was not dead but went for repackaging.
The lawmaker said the House would do better than the last legislative session as it was well equipped now more than before to face the challenges ahead.
(NAN)
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