Stakeholders in Edo Calls for Passage of Freedom of Information Law.

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By Lucky Isibor



Stakeholders in Edo State have called for the passage of the Freedom Of Information (FOI) Law in the state to enhance individuals access to every information in the state to promote accountablility in goverment.


The stakeholders comprising media practioners, civil society organisations and community based organisations made the call at a roundtable to discuss the Freedom of Information FoI and issues around it at the Edo State Secretariat of Africa Network for Economic and Environment Justice, ANEEJ in Benin City, Edo State.
The roundtable was organised by Gatefield Organization in collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (USAID, Palladium (Make it Possible) and Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE).

While dueling on an overview of the FOI Act, Duties and Obligations of Public Institutions Under the FOI Act in his presentation, Mr. Innocent Idemharia, the program officer of ANEEJ who represented Gatefield Organization, recalled previous efforts made by stakeholders in the state to engage Edo State government on the need to forward the bill on the Edo State Freedom of Information Law to the Edo State House of Assembly for passage. 

He said during the first tenure of Obaseki's administration, stakeholders in Edo state went round some Ministries in the state for their input to ensure that urgent steps are taken to domesticate FOI Law in Edo State.

While noting that the FoI Act is a citizen law, Edemharia urged the people to use the Law to get information from the relevant government agencies where it has been operationalised. 
"The FOI Act is a Citizens’ driven law and the citizens must take advantage of the Act to hold  government accountable.

"Citizens should look around their environment, you must see something wrong,

"We must learn to ask relevant questions and hold our institutions accountable. The FOI Act is a ready tool for Social Audit and we must take advantage of it. If properly implemented, the FOI Act can change the nation’s story of woes and entrench an era of good and all hands must be on deck."

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