The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) came top position out of 213 Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs) ranking on access to Freedom of Information (FIO).
This was disclosed in a report by the Public and Private Development Center (PPDC), on Tuesday in Abuja, which indicated that NIPC emerged winner with 68.5 points, according to NAN.
Other MDA’s that finished in the top 5 include the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) which came 2nd with 60.5 points; National Orientation Agency came 3rd with 51 points, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) came 4th with 48.5 points and Accident Investigation Bureau came 5th with 47.75 points.
What they are saying
Senior Legal Officer who was part of the drafting of the FOI Act, Maxwell Kadiri said “a law was as good as having the political will to implement it.”
He added that the Ministry of Justice had been issuing guidelines on how the MDAS can adhere to the FOI request, adding that in almost 10 years, institutions are not complying with the Attorney General’s Office guidelines on information disclosure.
“Article 9 of the African Charter makes it mandatory for access to information.
“You can have a commission to push for the implementation of the law, but if there is no political will, nothing can happen,” he said.
Chief Operating Officer (COO) of PPDC, Mrs Gift Maxwell, said the ranking assesses the level of compliance of public institutions to the provisions of the FOIA. The MDAs are ranked based on the proactive disclosure of information, the responsiveness to requests, and the level of disclosure.
“This year, a total of 213 public and security sector institutions were ranked.
“These rankings are not in any way meant to tarnish the reputation of any institution, rather it is aimed at encouraging all public institutions to comply with provisions of the Freedom of Information Act by improving their disclosure practices to improve citizen participation,” Maxwell said.
Mr Sabo Isiaku, Asst. Director, NIPC, who received the award on behalf of the NIPC said the chief executive of the NIPC was committed to ensuring the information was disclosed, which the staff complied with.
What you should know
Recall Nairametrics recently reported that Yewande Sadiku, CEO and Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission will leave her post after completing a five-year tenure. She handed over to the most senior Director of the Commission, Mr Emeka Offor on Friday, 24th September 2021.
