The Availability and Use of the Freedom Of Information (FOI) Act 2011 by Nigerian Citizens
By Dr. Joel Ademisoye, United States
Hello, my fellow citizens of Nigeria, particularly the youths in the North Senatorial District and Owo- Ose Federal Constituency in Ondo State. This article is deliberately posted on the OIOA social platform for your reading, enlightenment and education, on how the former Ekiti gubernatorial candidate, Esan has used the FOI to sue or filed a legal action against the senator representing his senatorial district in Ekiti State about the allegations of refusal and stonewalling, to provide government records and information under the Freedom Of Information Information (FOI), 2011 Act. Do you know that you have a right to request for and obtain records and information about the Federal Government spending on the Constituency projects in the North Senatorial District/ Owo- Ose Federal Constituency by invoking the FOI? Yes, as a Nigerian citizen, journalist and organization, you have the right to invoke and use the FOI to obtain records and information from a government official, government agency and private organization dealing with or spending the government funds in Nigeria.
Then, what is FOI Act of 2011 and its use in Nigeria? It is a law that allows Nigerian citizens, journalists and organizations to access records and information in the possession of the public institutions, private organizations performing the public functions or spending the public /government funds (Source: Google online).
Against the aims of FOI in Nigeria, it is possible to obtain records and information about the district/ constituency, from the elected political officials, who are representing the people of the North Senatorial District and Owo -Ose Federal Constituency in the National Assembly in Abuja, Senator Olajide Ipinsagba and Rep Timihen Adelegbe. If your request for records and information about a constituency project isn’t granted, you have a right to file a legal complaint or legal suit in the court against Ipinsagba or Adelegbe, to force them to comply with the FOI Law of 2011.
Please, read, review and learn some lessons from the posted article on the use of FOI in obtaining records and information from a senator in Ekiti South West Constituency. Although, the case is still pending in the court.
Having read the article on the case of Ekiti State, which I learned some lessons on how the FOI process operates or works, it is beneficial to share my knowledge with my members of the Owo-Ose communities, especially its youths, to encourage them to employ the FOI, as a legal instrument to request and obtain the necessary records and information about the constituency projects, budget allocations, government funds earmarked for and spending on a project, etc. Note: With the availability and use of FOI by the citizens, holding the elected political leaders like Senator Ipinsagba and Rep Adelegbe, you can make your elected officials to comply with the law by being transparent, accountable and honest, ordinarily the goal that is difficult, if not impossible to achieve in our current political environment of the North Senatorial District and Owo- Ose Federal Constituency in Ondo State.
As a result of the difficulties encountered by the Nigerian citizens in obtaining records and information from our elected political officials, the time has come a paradigm shift in the use of the FOI tool to ‘beam the search light’ on the current secret, inaccessible situation to the records, information and conditions of the ‘darkness’ as reflected by the lack of transparency, accountability and integrity in our district and constituency as well. Remember that the FOI, is a necessary and important tool in the hands of the Nigerian citizens, to fight the monster, political corruption, looting of the state treasury and misappropriation of the government funds that are allocated to implement the development and infrastructure projects in Nigeria. Hence, silence by citizens about the poor governance and the political corruption in Nigeria, is no longer Golden! Also, remember that the FOI is a strong and powerful tool, to request for and obtain the records and information from your elected state governor and members of the National and State Assembly in the country. The bitter truth is, many Nigerians don’t know about the FOI and its utility in assisting the citizens, in the process of securing and obtaining records and information from a stubborn, uncooperative and unyielding government official or agency or private organization that is supported by the government funds or the recipient of the government contracts or spending the taxpayers’ money in Nigeria. Without mincing words, the benefits of the use of FOI is tremendous, because it provides accessibility to the public or private entity’s records and information that is denied to the Nigerian citizens.
Leave a comment