Kaduna: Stakeholders task Lawmakers on speedy domestication of FOI Act

The Transparency and Accountability in Totality Initiative (TinT) which is the parent organisation of FollowTaxes and ‘Shin Kun Sheda’ has tasked the Kaduna State House of Assembly on speedy domestication of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in the state.

TinT in collaboration with Gatefield on the Strengthening Civil Society and Local Engagement Activity (SCALE) project funded by USAID and Implemented by Palladium in Nigeria, earlier in the year launched a new project aimed at advocating and supporting both state and non-state actors towards the domestication of FOI Act in Kaduna State.

Updating newsmen on its push for the domestication of the Act in the state at a press briefing, Senior Communications and Partnership Lead, Jamila Mohammed Dahiru said the effort became necessary to strengthen the Open Government Partnership, OGP accountability process which Kaduna government subscribed to at sub-national level.

According to Jamila, after the bill hit the rock in the state assembly after scaling through the second reading a few years ago due to suspected ambiguities in some sections of the document, TinT and collaborating organisations were worked hard to get state and non-state actors’ buy-in to ensure the bill is passed into law before the expiration of the current political dispensation.

“The Kaduna State government joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in the year 2016 as a part of its commitment to promote accountability, transparency and citizens’ engagement in governance, hence concerted efforts were made to institutionalize OGP principles in all the sectors of the state.”

“An integral part of this effort is strengthening and actualizing the public’s right to access information as empowered by the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) at the national level which is in the process of domestication in Kaduna state.

“The domestication of the FOI Act was part of the milestone of the OGP commitment to access to information in the First State Action Plan (SAP, 2018-2020), which was not achieved, though it is on record that the Kaduna State government is making concerted efforts towards the domestication of this Act over the years.”

“The domestication bill titled ‘A Bill for a Law to make public records and information available to protect records, information, personal privacy, and serving public officers in Kaduna State’ was first submitted to the State House of Assembly in 2018.

“After the second reading, it was sent back to effect some corrections which was done and re-submitted to the house for consideration in 2019.

“We have since the start of the project made several advocacies to relevant stakeholders including state (Executive and Legislature) and non-state actors and sincere commitments have been made by the stakeholders on working alongside us to achieve the commitment.

“The domestication of this Act is important because it gives room to openness, transparency and accountability in government and strengthens the democratic structure with the result of creating values.

“We are therefore calling on the residents of Kaduna State, the State government and Honorable Members of the State House of Assembly to fast-track domestication of this Bill,“ she added.