Cross Section of Nigerians Condemn House of Representatives For Failure to Pass FOI Bill.

Individuals and institutions in Nigeria cutting across social, religious, political, economic and ethnic divide have risen in unison to condemn the failure of the House of Representatives to take the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill at the Committee of the whole (Third Reading) on April 29 and May 7. They have also added their voices in the campaign for the National Assembly to pass the Bill without further delay as they believe the Bill will help fight Nigeria’s endemic corruption and enhance good governance.

The Newspapers Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN) the umbrella body of newspapers and magazine publishers in Nigeria lampooned the House saying it was disappointed  over the House trivial handling of the Bill, which "showed lack of seriousness with the issues of anti-corruption and accountability which the Bill seeks to entrench."

NPAN, in a statement by its President, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, argued that if the Bill had been passed into law before now, the time-consuming probes embarked upon by the House would not have been necessary since the public would have access to the information on the matters being investigated.

The group said: "By treating lightly such an important tool for bringing about positive change to the Nigerian society, the House members have called to question their commitment to, and the real intentions of, the probes embarked upon by the House, and this should make Nigerians to ask if the (lawmakers) are merely playing to the gallery by instituting one probe after another at huge public expense."

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on its part pledged to take action that would make lawmakers to review their stand. Mr. John Odah, the NLC General Secretary, said: "We will find out what went wrong because the Bill is an important aspect of finding solutions to the problems of Nigeria.