An NGO, Transparency and Accountability in Totality Initiative (TinT), has urged Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and members of the State Assembly to fast-track the domestication of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.
Mr Musa Sulaiman, FoI Project Officer, TinT, the parent organisation of Follow Taxes and Shin Kun Sheda made the call while addressing newsmen in Kaduna on Wednesday.
According to him, the measure will institutionalise Open Government Partnership (OGP) by ensuring citizens access to information in the state.
Sulaiman explained that TinT, a member of the Digital Rights and Information Partnership, with support from USAID was advocating and supporting state and non-state actors towards the domestication of the FoI Act in Kaduna State.
He said that the advocacy was under “#KeepItOpen”, a USAID-supported Civil Society and Local Engagement project.
He said that the organisation has made several advocacies under the project to relevant stakeholders and obtained commitments to making access to information a reality in the state.
“We are currently banking on the El-Rufai-led state executive council and the state assembly to translate the commitment into action before the end of this administration.
“This is crucial because the domestication of this act will strengthen openness, transparency and accountability in governance and strengthen the democratic processes,” he said.
This, according to him, will fulfill the commitment to making information easily accessible by citizens in line with the principle of the OGP which the Kaduna State Government had signed unto.
“The act, if domesticated, will enhance access to public information, protect public records on grounds of public interest and personal privacy as well as public officers who provide such information without authorization,” he said.
He recalled the Kaduna state government joined the OGP in 2018 and is currently implementing five commitment areas as part of its commitment to promote accountability, transparency, and citizens’ engagement in governance.
He acknowledged the concerted efforts made over the years to institutionalise the principle of open and participatory governance in all sectors.
He pointed out that domestication of the FoI act was part of the milestone of the OGP commitment on Access to Information in the First State Action Plan, 2018-2020.
The FoI project officer, however, said that the commitment was not achieved and was not captured in the State Action Plan II.
He said that civil society organisations and individuals working around open governance were currently making efforts to ensure that access to information was captured in the State Action Plan III.
According to him, the goal is to strengthen and actualize the public’s right to access information as empowered by the FoI at the national level which is in the process of domestication in Kaduna state.
“The Kaduna State Government had come up with the first draft in 2018, updated it in 2021 and currently at the committee level in the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
“While acknowledging the efforts of the state government towards the domestication of the Act, our prayer is that this administration will domesticate the Act before the end of the tenure.
“The move will enhance transparency which is the stronghold of the El-Rufai administration,” he said.
