By Ochuko Akuopha

STAKEHOLDERS have called for the establishment of Freedom of Information, FOI Act desk offices in Ministries, Agencies and Departments, NDAs in the various states across the country to pave way for unhindered access to information.

This was part of recommendations at a Stakeholder Engagement on the Supreme Court Interpretation of the FOI Act organised by Connected Development, CODE and Oxfam in Asaba, the Delta State.

The stakeholders stressed the need for supervising ministries to take the lead in establishing the role of front desk officers for the FOI Act as most MDAs currently lack dedicated legal offices.

They noted that rather than relying on a single desk officer, FOI implementation should be managed by a committee domiciled within each MDA to ensure continuity and accountability.

The said it was necessary for citizens who request information under the FOI Act to have clear, simplified, and accessible channels for submission, follow-up, and feedback to enhance transparency and trust in government institutions.

According to Programs Officer of CODE, Mr Abdulazeez Hussain, the dialogue with stakeholders from selected states including include Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Imo and Cross Rivers, was necessitated by the need to ensure synergy in the understanding of the judgement of the Supreme Court on the FOI Act.

He said: “In the past, we have been having experiences where most states have varying laws from what the federal has and some don’t even have because they feel they have not domesticated it and access to information becomes very difficult for citizens who want it.

“But with the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court that says states do not necessarily have to make this law on FOI, it is now the duty for us to engage the stakeholders first because as custodians of this law in their states, they need to first and foremost, understand it and put in place, system for them to be able to make information accessible to citizens and not necessarily having to wait to domesticate the law in their states.”

On his part, Head, FOI Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice, Garuba Godwin noted that there was collaboration between CODE and Ministry of Justice on the implementation of the Supreme Court judgement on FOI.

He explained: “There are some selected states that CODE is covering and that is why those states sent representatives to discuss how FOI can be implemented in those states.

Aside looking at the Supreme Court judgement, the major purpose of the gathering is to see how we can establish desks responsible for the FOI Act implementation in the MDAs across states.

“Though the FOI Act is 14 years old now, it is a norm that that people are finding difficult to adjust to. That is why government is trying to make citizens access information about its activities and how they can also participate in governance.”