By Elizabeth Osayande & Ifunanya Ndigwe

Media Rights Agenda has expressed deep concern over the poor allocation of funding for the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in the 2026 Federal Government budget, noting that over 99 percent of public institutions have no dedicated funds to carry out their statutory obligations.

The organization accused the Federal Government of institutionalising a culture of secrecy in governance after a detailed review of the allocations revealed that only 13 ministries, departments and agencies made specific provisions for the act.

According to a report released by the group, the total allocation for the implementation of the act and related activities stands at N191.1 million across the 13 institutions, representing 0.00033 percent of the N58.47 trillion national budget.

Deputy Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda Mr. Ayode Longe said in a statement issued in Lagos that the act imposes clear obligations on public institutions which require dedicated financial resources.

Mr. Longe said. “The FOI Act imposes clear obligations on public institutions, including the proactive publication of information, proper maintenance of records, training of personnel, designation of FOI Desk Officers, submission of annual implementation reports to the Attorney-General of the Federation, and responding to requests for information from members of the public. Effective compliance with these obligations requires dedicated financial resources. Without adequate funding, these responsibilities cannot be meaningfully discharged.”

Mr. Longe noted that the absence of budget lines in past years led to poor record-keeping and a general erosion of the right of the public to know.

He argued that the failure to allocate funds was a calculated effort to foist a reign of opacity on Nigerians and reflected a lack of commitment to transparency and accountability.

Mr. Longe said. “By failing to fund the FOI Act, the Federal Government is effectively emasculating the law and rendering it inoperative. You cannot run an open government or combat corruption while simultaneously starving the very mechanism that enables citizens to engage with the government, see where money is going into and what the government is doing on their behalf.”

The report indicated that out of over 1,300 public institutions, the vast majority have no plans to train desk officers or digitise records.

Media Rights Agenda expressed particular disappointment over the failure of the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to make any budgetary allocation for its regulatory functions as the primary oversight body.

Longe noted.” The failure year after year of the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to lead by example is particularly galling as it signals to other public institutions that they can ignore the FOI Act with absolute impunity.”

The group called on the National Assembly to refuse to pass the budgets of public institutions unless they include specific line items for the implementation of the act.

The organization further urged the Attorney-General of the Federation to work with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Budget Office to ensure all institutions include adequate budget lines for compliance.