NIGERIA GUILD OF EDITORS URGES GOVERNMENT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FOIA
The Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) has pleaded with the governments at all levels to ensure the right to access public information, which is in line with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other international instruments.
NGE, in a statement given on the 27t September 2020 to commemorate the International Day for Universal Access to Information, said the right to access public information is an indispensable element of a democratic space, which enables citizens to hold their elected representatives accountable for the decisions they make and the ways in which they spend public fund.
The NGE, President and General Secretary, Mustpha Isah and Iyobosa Uwugiaren, expressed concern that 12 years after former President Goodluck Jonathan signed the FOIA, agencies and ministries of government had continued to deny citizens access to information. If governments at all levels are truly serious in fighting corruption, then, access to information is an essential tool in the war against corruption.
