CODE Trains State Assembly over Adoption of FOI in Akwa Ibom
By Ekemini Simon
A civil society organisation, Connected Development (CODE) has trained staff and aides of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Members on the imperatives for the adoption of the Freedom of Information Act in Akwa Ibom State.
The Freedom of Information Act passed in 2011 has continued to generate issues with many States including Akwa Ibom State refusing to honor requests made pursuant to it following claims and a few rulings that States must adopt the law before it can be applied within States.
CODE on Friday during a capacity building workshop for all the 26 state legislators and aides, organized by CODE in partnership with OXFAM said the government of Akwa Ibom State muster sufficient political will to adopt the law and also train its staff in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, on the provisions and importance of the law.
Prof Adewale Aderemi, Director, Democratic Governance at National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) who spoke on ‘Strategies and Steps in Domesticating Freedom of Information Act’, said the training is geared towards enabling government officials to understand the importance of transparency by disclosing information on request for accountability which will help reduce corruption and enhance intelligent public relations.
He said in adopting the Freedom of Information Law for the State, there is need for wider consultations of relevant stakeholders before making the law so as to capture local realities and allow the people own the law and implement it thereafter.
According to him, “For any law to work well, you need to take ownership of it. You need to direct your interest and know that you designed it and calibrated it to suit your own local exigency.
“The National Act may not tick all the boxes in regards to Akwa Ibom, I think that in domesticating it, Akwa Ibom should make it work. The state as a matter of urgency should not only pass the bill but should muster sufficient political will to make it work and train its MDAs, record keepers on the provisions of the Act.
“It is important that in promulgating that act there should be widespread consultations so that local realities are captured.”
In her presentation on ‘Social Media and State Legislation’, Ruth Okafor, Programme/ Community Development Associate of CODE called on the legislators as well as the executives to consider using social media to engage meaningfully and robustly with the public especially the youth in getting inputs for the law.
She noted that effective use of social media in engagements should not foreclose the use of other traditional and conventional methods of communication such as the radio, television or newspaper.
Okafor explained that the use of social media by the government does not only increase accessibility and reach but is cost effective for public engagement and feedback even as she noted that it enhances transparency and accountability.
She said, “Government bodies and legislators should also use social media to proactively disclose information. They should be shown how other governments, agencies use platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to publish reports, budgets and other public interest information.”