NIPC wins 2021 edition of FOI rankings

The Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) has emerged winner of the 2021 edition of the National Freedom of Information (FOI).

The FOI ranking which held in Abuja was organised by a coalition of civil society

Also, the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) and National Orientation Agency (NOA) came second and third place, respectively.

The rank which is done annually was organised by a coalition of civil society organisations, including the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Public-Private Development Centre (PPDC), Basic Rights Watch (BRW), Right to Know (R2K), Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and BudgIT.

Chief Operating Officer of the Private and Public Development Centre Gift Maxwell, who delivered the opening remarks, said the programme was designed not to tarnish the image of any institution but to improve their level of disclosure and encourage citizen’s participation in governance.

During the panel discussion, Editor of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR) Ajibola Amzat noted that less than 25 per cent of public institutions in Nigeria complied with the FOI Act, an indication that government institutions under the Buhari administration were not as transparent as expected.

He characterised the poor compliance as a breach of the Open Government Partnership agreement signed in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari in London.

In response, a Legal Officer Mariah Obafemi, who spoke on behalf of the Head of FOI Unit of the Federal Ministry Of Justice Gowon Ichibor said the ministry had made several efforts to drive compliance among all public institutions.

Obafemi said the effort included holding training on FOI for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and sensitizing staff of various public institutions on the need to provide free access to public information.

She expressed hope of greater compliance by the time the ministry began a new round of awareness campaigns in October.