Act was passed in the country, no fewer than 16 states are yet to domesticate it or create comparative and parallel mechanisms that serve to promote transparency and accountability in government.
Experts believe that states are taking advantage of conflicting judicial pronouncements to indulge in this bad behaviour.“There are two conflicting judgments of the Court of Appeal on the applicability of the Freedom of Information Act in the states. One says that it is applicable throughout the country. Another one says that it is not applicable to states on the grounds that it is a federal enactment.
In this time, only 30 per cent of such requests were effectively treated and the information requested disclosed. The remaining were either ignored or acknowledged with no information provided. “Monopolising the power to make information public negates the need for which the FOI Act was passed into law. And that is the need for openness, transparency and decentralisation of information from the side of the government to the people and thereby build trust which in turn makes room for good governance delivery,” said Idayat Hassan, Director, Centre for Democracy and Development .
These data include cash releases from 2016 till date as well as names of contractors, budgeted project amounts and status of projects. The responses were expected to provide insight into state governments’ contracting and procurement procedures.The first challenge to the distribution of FOIs was the absence of updated contact information and addresses for state government parastatals on the internet.
Whereas Doc Zax from the state’s Office of the Accountant General said that only the state ministry of works and the Nasarawa Urban Development Board have the mandate to implement projects, this view was not shared by Abdullahi Ogoshi from the state ministry of health, who said: “that only the state governor has the power to issue such a directive for the ministries to comply.”
The document further stated that he/she shall, not later than 14 working days after receipt of application, give written notice to applicant if access has been granted or provide the requested information.
Only the top official benefit 😑
No rule of law in this country
Seriously..
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