2024 Budget: Only 10 out of 1,316 federal institutions made allocations for FOI implementation —MRA

The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has expressed concern over the level of funding in the Federal Government’s 2024 budget for the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and FOI-related activities by public institutions, noting that only 10 out of the 1,316 federal public institutions made specific allocations for FOI Implementation or other FOI-related activities in their proposals.

The body, in a recent press statement announcing the release of its 18-page report titled “A Vote Against Transparency: A Report on Allocations for Freedom of Information Implementation in 2024 Federal Budget”, described the situation assignalling lack of commitment to making the Law effective.

It also stated the situation is an indication that the FOI Act is likely to experience another year of extremely poor performance in its implementation by government institutions and authorities.

MRA noted that the situation in the 2024 budget is only slightly better than what was recorded in the 2023 budget in which only nine Federal ministries, departments and agencies made specific allocations for FOI-related activities and implementation in their budget proposals.

It therefore called on the Federal Government to demonstrate an absolute commitment to the full and effective implementation of the FOI Act by allocating the appropriate resources required for this purpose.

MRA’s Communications Officer, Mr. IdowuAdewale, noted that without adequate investment in the implementation of the Law in order to ensure that the government is transparent and accountable, all other allocations and expenditures for infrastructure, facilities or other development projects would be at risk and could easily be misappropriated.