Report of the FOI compliance and transparency ranking in Akwa Ibom State.
By Abasifreke Effiong
Access to information in Akwa Ibom State in still very low 10 years after the federal government enacted the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law.
Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, in the State are still unwilling to grant citizens’ requests to information, even though such are made under the the FOI Act.
In Nigeria, the Freedom of Information Act came into enforcement in 2011. Despite this, governments at the sub-national level are still shutting the doors against requests to information from journalists, Civil Society Organisations, and citizens.
In the first sub-national FOI compliance and transparency ranking carried out by the Public and Private Development Centre, PPDC, in partnership with the Akwa Ibom Access to Information Team (ATIT), a cohort of CSOs, media organisations and community actors, none of the 29 MDAs sampled in Akwa Ibom State scored up to 30 points.
The Akwa Ibom State Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, which came first in the ranking scored 28 points out of 100.
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Akwa Ibom State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and Budget Office scored four points each, while the Akwa Ibom State Secondary Education Board scored two points.
Other 25 MDAs including the State Ministry of Information scored zero points.
The ranking was based on three parameters, proactive disclosure, responsiveness to request for information and level of disclosure of information requested for.
Proactive disclosure which was allocated 60 points was based on how much of operational information MDAs in the State provided on their websites. Level of responsiveness to Freedom of Information request and level of disclosure of information requested for were allocated 20 points each.
Unveiling the report of the ranking in Uyo at an event to mark the International day for universal access to information 2021, the legal adviser of PPDC, Mr. Sam Offia, said the first sub-national FOI ranking was supported by MacArthur foundation.
Mr. Offia said the ranking was based on the provisions of the FOI Act 2011 and aimed to promote citizens’ participation in governance.
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Journalists in the State who shared their experiences in the course of trying to access information for their work said most agencies of government in the State including the Office of the Governor and the Ministry of Information do not respond to FOI requests.
One of them recalled that the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in the State, Barr. Ini Ememobong, has told journalists repeatedly that “government around the world are run on secrecy.”
The journalists who were discussants at the event said continuous engagements with the government and litigation in cases where access to information is denied will improve freedom of information.
The theme for the 2021 International day for access to information celebrated in the State by Policy Alert was, “The Right to Know: Akwa Ibom Experience”.
