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Reading: Buhari's Failure: Legacy of Secrecy in FOI Act Implementation
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Buhari's Failure: Legacy of Secrecy in FOI Act Implementation

Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of a monumental failure in implementing the Freedom of Information (FOI) Ac...

Chima Joseph Ugo
Chima Joseph Ugo - Editor-in-chief May 29, 2023
Updated May 29, 2023 at 6:31 AM
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Buhari's Failure: Legacy of Secrecy in FOI Act Implementation
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"Buhari's Failure: Legacy of Secrecy in FOI Act Implementation"
Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of a monumental failure in implementing the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, leading to a legacy of secrecy during his eight-year tenure. MRA has called on incoming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prioritise transparency and accountability in Nigeria's democracy.

MRA released a report titled "A Legacy of Secrecy: The FOI Act under the Buhari Administration" to mark the 12th anniversary of the signing of the FOI Act into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on May 28, 2011. The report highlights the violations of the FOI Act by public institutions and their disregard for their obligations under the law during the Buhari years.

According to Ayode Longe, MRA's program director, numerous public institutions spent significant sums of money on lawyers to defend their refusal to comply with the FOI Act and disclose information to the public. President Buhari and his administration failed to express disapproval or reprimand any of these institutions engaged in such practices.

MRA's report examines the Buhari administration's performance in implementing the FOI Act and how public institutions complied with their obligations under the law, including the submission of annual implementation reports to the Attorney General of the Federation.

Longe emphasises that the level of compliance with the reporting obligation under Section 29 of the Act was shockingly low throughout President Buhari's tenure. Less than 100 out of the 1,316 ministries, departments, and agencies of the Federal Government submitted their FOI Act implementation reports from 2015 to 2022, with no consequences for non-compliance.

Data obtained by MRA from the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation reveals the abysmal compliance rate. Only a small number of public institutions submitted their reports for each year, with the highest rate of compliance recorded in 2022 at 6.84 percent.

Longe criticises the Presidency for not responding to any information requests during Buhari's eight years in power, calling it a gross failure of leadership. He argues that this pattern of non-compliance must be reversed by the incoming administration to restore public trust and confidence in the government.

Longe expresses concern over the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami's, lack of recommendations to the National Assembly on improving compliance by ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) with their FOI Act obligations. He also highlights the Attorney-General's failure to update the Guidelines for the Implementation of the FOI Act, which could have enhanced implementation efforts.

MRA calls on President-Elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu's government to take proactive steps to ensure the effective implementation of the FOI Act. They emphasise the importance of allocating adequate resources in the Federal Government's annual budgets for this purpose. MRA asserts that transparency, accountability, and citizen participation are essential for good governance, which the FOI Act can help foster.

Tags: Nigeria

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