By Isah Hussein
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that citizens are entitled to information about the workings of government in order for society to function very well.
Jonathan said this at the Freedom of Information (FOI)Award ceremony organized by the International Press Centre(IPC) in collaboration with the Media Right Agenda(MRA) at a ceremony in Abuja to mark the 10th anniversary of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
The event also coincided with the 2021 International Human Rights Day which was marked on Friday, December 10
The event recognized and honoured individuals, organizations and public institutions that are promoting the rights to information in Nigeria and facilitating the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act which has helped in providing Nigerians their right to access information on matters of public concern.
Dr Goodluck Jonathan, one of the recipients of Special Recognition Award, who was represented by the Executive Director, Goodluck Jonathan’s Foundation, Ms Ann Iyonu thanked the management of the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and the International Press Centre (IPC) for the honor of being part of this maiden Freedom of Information Awards ceremony.
The former President appreciated the Chairperson of the event, Justice Stella Anukam, for her contributions towards the protection of the rights and freedoms of Africans and also commended the organisers of the event for the initiative because access to reliable information is important for the growth of our society, considering the times we are in, today.
He said that when the citizens are well informed, they will not fall victim to the dangers of the growing spread of the fake news industry in our society, which is often driven by speculation and conjectures, arising out of the dearth of accurate and reliable public information.
Dr Jonathan thanked the organisers for conferring a Special Recognition Award on him “for what they said is in recognition of my humble contributions towards advancing the right to information in Nigeria”.
“Their specific reason is because I signed the Freedom of Information Bill into Law in 2011.
My administration enacted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on May 28, 2011, in order to expand media freedom and give the citizens reasonable access to information on the activities of Government, for the good of society”.
The former president also expressed his belief that, for a society to grow and for a country to develop in a sustainable manner, the people should be granted access to official information that are not classified.
“We are now in an information age which means that the society will not function well if the people do not have adequate information about the way government business is conducted.
This is because if the process of governance, is not reasonably opened up, some people will generate too much false information that could create problems for the society”.
The Executive Director, International Press Centre (IPC) Mr Lanre Arogundade opened the award ceremony with a recap of the historical struggles that led to the signing of the FOI Act into law by the administration of Former President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on May 28, 2011.
Mr Lanre commended the vision and enormous sacrifice of all those who played active roles in the 12-year struggle including the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Newspaper Proprietors of Nigeria (NPAN) over the period.
He said “we cannot take for granted the immense support of the media organisations and individual journalists who contributed in no small measure towards bringing FOI Act into reality”
The Chairperson of the ceremony, Hon Justice Stella Anukam, Judge of the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights, Arusha, Tanzania in her remarks said that the occasion was held to recognize and honor those who have made various contributions to the emergence of the FOI Act and are playing significant role in making the exercise and enjoyment of the right to information meaningful to Nigerians
She said that the enjoyment of human rights should include the right to information because human rights will be better enhanced when people are aware of their rights and can exercise them.
She said some of the people being honored are recognized because of the different roles they played in ensuring the codification of the right to information in the form of the FOI Act or by their efforts in ensuring the effective implementation of the legal instrument that guarantees the right to information.
She ended her speech by urging everyone to see the ceremony as a milestone in the journey to create an enlightened and informed society.
In his goodwill message, Mr Clément Boutillier, Head of Democracy, Governance and Migration Section, Delegation of the European Union said that there are many models of democracy in theworld, in Europe as well but that each is unique and at the same time, democracy has common features.
He however, said that the quality of democratic processes in all countries is linked to the state of access to information,freedom of expression and the ability of citizens to express themselves freely as well as media freedom as there could be no true democracy without a truly free press and as such, actual factual reporting should never put anyone’s life in danger
He noted that in Nigeria, the freedom of information have roused the media and the journalists to fulfill an important and necessary role of watchdogs and have also promoted the practice of holding government and institutions accountable for their actions and obligations.
He emphasized the EU’s commitment to the promotion of freedom of speech as it supports media freedom and freedom of information globally in its relations with partner countries and that the EU have always being active in supporting journalists both politically and financially, especially those who have being in trouble as well as protecting the rights of political actors in society, journalists and others to freely express their views in so far as these views are peaceful and not meant to increase tensions.
He said that ” that it is our assessment that the Nigerian press is one of the most vibrant in the continent and the introduction of FOI Act has generated a lot of hope and progress and we would continue to encourage it’s effective implementation in Nigeria”
He ended the speech by congratulating the recipients of the awards, thanking them for their hard work and resilience sometimes, in the face of adversity and “we hope to provide you the much needed encouragement as you move forward”.
Obanla Ridwan, Winner, Freedom of Information (FOI) National Essay Competition for students of mass communication and journalism on the theme: “Deepening Democracy: The Impact of FOI Act 10 Years After” while the first runner-up award went to Nenritmwa Mohammed.
The FOI Requests Category (individual category) Award was conferred on Atiku Sarki , having made the highest number of requests for information under the FOI Act between May 29, 2015 and October 31, 2021 and on Ibrahim Garba Maryam, having made the second highest number of requests for information under the FOI Act in the same time period.
FOI Request Category(Private organisation category) award was conferred on Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) having made the highest number of requests for information under the FOI Act between May 29, 2015 and October 31, 2021 and the 1st runner-up award went to the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) having made the second highest number of requests for information under the FOI Act within the same period
The FOI Awards for Public institution category went to the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) for the FOI Best Practice Recognition Award having been adjudged the most responsive public institution that has adopted innovative and access friendly practices and procedures to ensure the public’s right of access to information in Nigeria while the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), having been adjudged the second most responsive public institution that has adopted innovative and access-friendly practices and procedures to ensure the public’s right of access to information in Nigeria
The National Orientation agency(NOA) was conferred with Public Institution Champion for Freedom of Information Award, being the most popularly voted Freedom of Information public institution and for your activities raising awareness about the FOI Act among public institutions and Nigerian citizens.
Special Recognition Award Category
This Awards were conferred on eminent Nigerians which include Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan , GCFR (Former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria) for his substantial and lasting contribution towards the advancement of the right to information in Nigeria by his bold and patriotic act in signing into Law the Freedom of Information Bill on May 28, 2011, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi (Executive Governor of Ekiti State & Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum) for his signicant contribution towards the advancement of the right to information in Ekiti State and Nigeria, being the first Governor in Nigeria to adopt a Freedom of Information Law for a State.
Mr Tunde Fagbihunlu (SAN), Amb. Jerry Sonny Ugokwe, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Hon. Dimeji Bankole(Former Speaker of the House of Representatives), Senator Edoma Egba (SAN) and Senator Ayogu Eze also received the Special recognition awards, In recognition of their contribution towards the advancement of the right to information in Nigeria
Other recipients of the Special Recognition Awards include Mr Maxwell Kadiri, Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu,DR. Jibrin Ibrahim, MR Osaro Odemwingie,MS Angela Agoawike, Amaechi Anakwe and Dr Sam Amadi also received the special recognition awards
FOI Awards (Stakeholders category) went to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, (NPAN), Nigerian Guild of Editors(NGE), the British High Commission, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Open Society Justice Initiative(OSJI) and the European Union (EU) in recognition of their respective contributions towards the advancement of the right to information in Nigeria.