Lagos Business Community Joins Freedom of Information Campaign

 Lagos, Wednesday, April 26, 2006: The Lagos business community today expressed solidarity with civil society organizations campaigning for a Freedom of Information Act in Nigeria and promised to collaborate with them to ensure the enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill into Law.

The President of Business Club, Ikeja (BCI), Mr. Adebowale Thompson, made the pledge when the umbrella body of 76 firms in the manufacturing, commercial, financial and professional services sector hosted a delegation of the Freedom of Information Coalition at its monthly meeting.

As a follow-up from a workshop on the Freedom of Information Bill for professional groups, associations and organization, the Club invited the Coalition to make a presentation on issues of Freedom of Information at its monthly meeting.   

In a presentation on “Freedom of Information as a tool for Economic Development,” Mr. Tive Denedo, the Director of Campaigns at Media Rights Agenda (MRA), which hosts the Coalition’s secretariat, noted that access to information is not just a moral imperative on corruption but a tool for social, political and economic development of any nation that is governed by its principles.

He argued that a regime of access to information in Nigeria will create a level playing field for businesses as there will be openness and transparency in the taxation, tariff and duties regime of the country.

According to Mr. Denedo, since access to information will ensure transparency and accountability in the business sector, it is crucial to winning investor’s confidence.  He added that once the fears of investors are settled about the procedures for honest business transactions, economic development is sure to follow.

Responding to the presentation, Mr. Thompson admitted that prior to the Coalition’s engagement with the business sector, he had been naïve about what gains could accrue from a Freedom of Information regime.

He said: “I was naïve about the whole issue of Freedom of Information. When I first received the invitation to attend the workshop, I told somebody to attend the meeting on my behalf because I know I have no business in the media or in information. After I received the report from the workshop, I knew that it must benefit us in the business community and I did not hesitate to approve the invitation for you to come and address our monthly meeting.”

Mr. Thompson said that BCI had already began a process of collaboration with Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) to recruit somebody to serve as liaison officer between the business community and government in order for the business community to follow Bills that are being passed into law.

He described the campaign for the enactment of the Bill into law as a huge assignment that must receive the support of manufacturers and all those engaged in business saying one of the attractions is that the regime of multiple taxations will be over with the passage of the Bill into law.