NGO backs domestication of FOI in Akwa Ibom

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Connected Development (CODE) has rallied support from the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly for the domestication of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) in the State.

The Executive Director of CODE, Mr Hamzat Lawal, said this when he paid courtesy visit to the Deputy Speaker, Mr Kufreabasi Edidem in his office in Uyo.

Lawal noted that though the Freedom of Information Act had been passed into law, the state needed to further domesticate it.

“We visited the State House of Assembly and we met the Deputy Speaker of the House. The meeting was fostered because before now we have engaged Speaker, the leader of House of Assembly, and some principal officers of the House.

“We are pushing for the adoption of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI).

“Knowing that it has been passed, the State Assembly has to adopt it so that it might be signed by the Executive Governor.

“My meeting was informed by seeking that the Hon. Deputy Speaker becomes the champion of the domestication of the FOI Act,” Lawal said.

The executive director said that part of CODE’s responsibility was to engage the lawmakers on how they relate with the constituents they represent, to ensure that whatever bill they vote for was in line with the aspirations and yearnings of their constituents.

“One of the ways we want to explore our collaboration is when they engage their constituents because all the House of Assembly members do constituency briefings.

“They need to invite the media and the Civil Society so that we can further hold them to account, and also see and shape how they engage their constituents in their different local government area.

“For us, we will build a tool where our lawmakers could use both at the national and sub-national levels. It is called Nomination and Monitoring Tool.

“This tool, we have them on need assessment, so that when they are voting a project, it is the project that is informed by the need assessment from their constituents.

“Then when the project is captured in the budget we can join forces to track it so that we can foster transparency and accountability.

“So that is why I’m in the state to engage community members on the ground and the legislature,” he said.

In his remarks, the deputy speaker assured that the House would continue to make laws that will impact positively on the lives of the Akwa Ibom residents.

Edidem said that the assembly was working to ensure domestication of the FOI Act in the state, adding that invited the CODE to his next constituency briefing.