By Udora Orizu
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Freedom of Information, Hon. Cornelius Nnaji, has disclosed that only 73 of the over 900 public institutions in the country are complying with the provision of Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) on the disclosure of information.
Speaking at the 10th anniversary of the coming into effect of the Freedom of Information Act, Nnaji said that the Official Secrets Act (OSA) of 1962 has continued to impede the implementation of the FoIA as it has continued to dominate the thinking and practice within the public service.
He said public officials have remained unwilling to adhere to the information structure established under the FoIA despite the amendment of the OSA of 1962 by FoIA.
He disclosed that 90 per cent of MDAs are not aware of the existence of the Act or committed to its implementation, a situation, he said, calls for intensive broad-based awareness creation by Civil Society…
Source: Thisday Newspaper
