Daily Independent (Lagos)
Adam Adedimeji
9 October 2008
opinion
Information, according to Thomas Jefferson, former President of the United States of America, is the "currency of democracy". But it is doubtful if Nigerian legislators share Jefferson's view or so it seems. Four years after the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill scaled through the first reading at the lower chambers of Nigeria's National Assembly, Nigerians still bear the brunt of ineptness of its leaders in the executive and legislative arms of government whose respective responsibility it is to pass and assent to the bill. LAW EDITOR Adam Adedimeji traces the intrigues of FoI Bill and the efforts of civil society groups to see to its passage against all odds.
As Senate reconvenes this week after a two week long Sallah break, controversy continue to trail the passage of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill even as the Nigerian upper legislative house, the body responsible for its passage keep on assuring the nation that the bill will be passed into law soon.
Speaking through its spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, the Senate shortly before embarking on Sallah holiday allays the fears of Nigerians over the bill with the promise that the bill whose report is already submitted and has been laid before it will be passed in the next two to three weeks.
Ayogu Eze, the Senator representing Enugu South Senatorial District and Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media assured the expectant nation on September 30 that the upper legislative house not only resolved to pass the controversial bill immediately but had also pleaded with President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to assent his signature to it without delay.
Eze said: "There is no reason to be afraid of FoI Bill if you have nothing to fear. I have gone through the Bill and discover there is nothing, which is not already captured in the statutes and constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is just like synthesizing a body of regulations and laws that we already have here and there to give it direction and to give people access to information that would promote their intervention in governance. I know there is a determination on the part of the Senate to pass that Bill into law and I hope that the executive arm will also sign it.
I can assure you that in the next two to three weeks, the Senate will pass the FoI Bill and make it a law in Nigeria. This is part of our commitment to promote transparency and openness in governance and to show that those in government and those outside it should hold themselves accountable to Nigerians at all times."
Conversely, not many people believe the sermon as been dung out from the pulpit of the 109 'Distinguished Bishops' inside the Three Arms Zone Cathedral. This is because Nigerians has become skeptical with FoI Bill stories emanating from the two Chambers of the nation's National Assembly. Having played politics with this Bill for so many years without achieving the much-desired result, Nigerian citizens have learnt to regard any information on FoI Bill with a pinch of salt.
But much as people look forward to the passage of FoI Bill, they are not ready to accept it as is presently submitted. This is because of certain clauses integrated in the 'Report of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill' submitted by the Eze led committee that requires "security and court clearance before a piece of information can be released".
They argued that the clauses would impede rather than grant access to information.
For instance; Section two of the bill as proposed by the Eze-led Committee reads: "Every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has a legally enforceable right to, and shall, on application be given access to any information or record under the control of a government or public institution or private companies performing public functions, provided the disclosure of such information or release of such record(s) shall not compromise national security and the applicant shall have satisfied a State or Federal High Court of the need for the disclosure of such information or release of such record(s)."
Other areas of conflict, which some non-governmental organizations have queried, include:
* Removal of the requirement that does away with the need for the applicant to justify his application for the information/record.
* The decision to delete the provision of Section 2(2) in draft FOI Bill that provides that "An applicant need not demonstrate any specific interest in the information or record being applied for."
* Extension of the time limit for considering applications both in the first instance and when an extension of time is granted.
The Committee in its report also proposed an amendment to Sections 5(1) and 7(1) of the Bill by extending the number of days for considering any application for information from seven days to 30 working days in the first instance and 90 working days, in cases where the head of the public institution decides that an extension of the time limit for considering an application is appropriate.
Leading the voice against the inclusion of these sections in the proposed Bill is the Nigerian Guild of Editors describing it as a way of circumventing the gains of the FoI Bill through the back door as well as a setback in the quest for the citizen's access to information.
Rising from its maiden standing committee meeting in Lagos, the Gbenga Adefaye-led NGE not only described the new Section 2 of the FoI Bill as "obnoxious and toxic" but demanded that it be expunged from the document to avoid hampering the attainment of the benefits of a freedom of information regime in Nigeria.
According to a communiquÈ issued at the end of the committee's meeting, signed by Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, President and John Ndukauba, Secretary; "the introduction of a new toxic- Section 2- into the bill marks a setback in the quest for the citizen's access to information."
Since the contentious section demands security and court clearance before a piece of information can be released under the proposed law, the Guild believes the bureaucracy, litigation cost and time lines inherent in the proposal would certainly make it a dead law if passed as proposed.
The NGE communiquÈ further, "condemns in strong terms the introduction of this new toxic Section 2 by the Information Committee of the Senate of National Assembly and re-affirms that the FoI Bill is not a media legislation, as it is being erroneously portrayed, but one that seeks to empower every Nigerian, deepen democracy and enhance participatory governance through transparency and accountability in line with President Yar'Adua's vision for a truly corruption-free Nigeria.
Events leading to the agitation to the introduction and enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill were a tortuous one. With the advent of democracy through the constitutional review and then general election in May 1999, it became necessary for Nigerians to have information about government processes to be able to participate in governance.
In efforts to expand public access to information, a group of non-governmental organizations led by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) and the professional group, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) began to mobilize for access to information and freedom of expression.
A Bill was proposed in the year 2000 - a draft bill was produced by the MRA as far back as 1994, the Access to Official Information Act. This draft became the precursor of the current Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill - and by 2004 the group's efforts began to bear fruit. The House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Assembly passed the Freedom of Information Bill in August 2004 when it was transferred to the upper house, the Senate. After over two years, the Senate also passed the FoI Bill by a consensus vote in November 2006.
Prior to the passage of the bill by the two legislative houses, another group, the Freedom of Information Coalition, in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also in August 2005 held a two-day National Summit on the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill in Abuja. The Summit brought together 61 participants, drawn from various government anti corruption agencies, the security and intelligence services, civil society organizations and the media.
The objective of the Summit among other things was to ensure the emergence of an effective Freedom of Information Act for the country.
These groups of activists were able to promote FoI Bill effectively bolstering public support for the bill by increasing public awareness and fine-tuning their engagement with the legislative process.
As the bill comes under debate again as promised by the Senate, it is hoped that our legislators will get it passed and assented to this time around. After all, "There is no reason to be afraid of FoI Bill if you have nothing to fear." Four years is enough a time for this Bill in our Senators' clinic to survive surgical operation, no matter the nature of the ailment.
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