Workshop Asks For Signatures in FOI Advocacy

Participants at a grassroots workshop in Makurdi Benue State, have asked that Nigerians should utilize a national signature campaign to demand for the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill saying that this will demonstrate that every section of Nigeria desires a law that guarantees access to public document.

They observed that a large number of Nigerians are interested in how certain policies of government are implemented in different tiers and arms of government and that Nigerians should show a strong desire for the law by collectively endorsing the demand with signatures collected from all the local councils of the federation. The participants believe that the campaign will be effective saying that if CBO’s and NGO’s give them a target in numbers over a period, a specified figure large enough to be truly representative of Nigerians could be sourced and sent to the National Assembly and the Presidency.

The participants said that all these people who should be referred to as the Friends of FOI should cut across all segments of society including those who would use their thumbprints. According to them this will ensure that the demand is inclusive and open for public participation and would remove the impression in government circle that only a few Nigerians and especially the media are interested in having the Bill passed into law.

The forum, the first in the series of workshops aimed at bringing the content of the Bill to the average Nigerian and in the process strengthen the Freedom of Information Coalition, was organized by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), in collaboration with Lawyers Alert with support from the Partners Agency Collaborating Together (PACT Nigeria).

According to participants, a factor that will be critical to the successful passage and implementation of the proposed law would be how many Nigerians are involved in the process of making a demand for the passage of the bill are able to use it. The participants said that they are encouraged to pursue the signature campaigns because a recent study in the state has shown that there are about 2,900 CBO’s and NGO’s in Benue state alone. They believe that taken across the nation, the campaign would be very successful. 

The participants also recognized traditional rulers and leaders of religious organizations as key players in the society who should be involved in the advocacy for the enactment of the Bill into law in view of their influence on their subjects and citizens generally.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the coordinator of the workshop and MRA’s Campaign Director, Mr. Tive Denedo, said that the bill would assist a state like Benue with its huge agricultural potentials in making immense contribution to agricultural development and food security for the country because with the access to information law Nigerians would be able to ascertain how much the country’s investment is in agriculture while it provides the mechanisms for tracking the budget for agriculture.

In his contribution, the Programme Officer of Lawyers Alert, Mr. Kaseamo Andrew Adejir described the CBO’s participation in the workshop as part of their readiness to make meaningfull contributions to the development of law in Nigeria. According to Adejir, civil society organizations remain a critical segment in the pursuit of the success of the democratic experience and should therefore make their voices heard in the advocacy for the law of access to information.

Participants called for a quick passage of the bill into law, but said there should be more awareness campaign through radio jingles, billboards and a massive distribution of Information, Education and Communication materials across the country so that as the moment for passage and assent gets closer, more people are drawn to commit to the principles and practice involved in the sustenance of the law.

They also asked for the intensification and expansion of the text message campaigns especially at such times when pressured is required on specific groups in the National Assembly and the Presidency as a means of moving the process at any stage leading to the passage of the bill.