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By Chukwuma Umeorah
Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has called on the Federal Government to take decisive action to tackle corruption in Nigeria by empowering citizens with information through the effective implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), 2011 to engender transparency and accountability in governance.
The call was made through a statement issued in Lagos, on Friday, to commemorate this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD). According to the MRA’s programme officer, Maimuna Momoh, corruption is the major factor impeding Nigeria’s democracy, subverting electoral processes, perverting the course of justice and the rule of law while also exacerbating poverty and economic underdevelopment. She noted further that corruption not only sabotages the war against terrorism and violent extremism but actually aggravates the conflict by providing funding for it to destabilize democratic institutions.
According to her, “If effectively implemented, the Freedom of Information has the potential to curb the widespread corruption in the country as it would instill transparency into governance, enabling citizens to hold public officials and civil servants accountable for their fiscal decisions and actions as well as the performance of other aspects of their duties and functions.”
MRA observed that this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight the crucial link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development while making the case that tackling the crime of corruption is the right and responsibility of everyone, and that government officials, law enforcement agencies, media, private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders all have a role to play in uniting the world against corruption.
They argued that without an effectively functioning Freedom of Information framework, these identified stakeholder groups, particularly the media and the public, cannot play a meaningful role in stamping out corruption. The group noted that in recognition of the role of access to information in combatting corruption, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) identified various categories of information that should be made publicly available to ensure effective government accountability.
They expressed disappointment that despite the strong anti-corruption platform upon which the current administration ran for election eight years ago, no decisive or concerted effort have been demonstrated to ensure the effective implementation of the FOI Act as most public institutions and officials in government have continued to disregard and violate the provisions of the law with impunity.
MRA therefore called on Federal Government to take urgent measures in its last few months in office to ensure full compliance to the FOI Act by all public institutions in order to leave a more positive legacy in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
