Right to Know Day around the world - Nigeria

Organizer: "Acces-info" Centre
Date: September 12
Event: Signature Campaign on Freedom of Information Bill

The Freedom of Information Coalition (FOIC) in Nigeria, led by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), has launched a signature campaign in support of a petition asking the federal legislature, the National Assembly, to pass the Freedom of Information Bill into law before the end of 2007.

The Coalition is aiming to secure at least one million signatures in support of the petition from Nigerians across the country and in the Diaspora. The petition, supported by the signatures, will be presented to the National Assembly on September 28, 2007, this year’s “International Right to Know Day”.

In the petition, for which it is seeking public support, the coalition expressed concern over the inordinate delay in passing the Bill into law, saying the failure to enact the law “undermines democratic and accountable governance by denying us our fundamental right to know and participate fully in the government of our country”.

The coalition also insisted that: “The right of citizens to access public information underpins a democratic system of government and is a core requirement for good governance. Indeed, it is a human right.”

A day after the campaign was launched, thousands of Nigerians scattered across the globe have enthusiastically signed up for the petition and the number of signatories continues to grow.

The Freedom of Information Bill, when it becomes law, will give every Nigerian citizen a right of access to information held by government agencies and departments, subject to the exemptions specified in the Bill. It has been pending in the National Assembly since 1999. Although the Bill was passed by the lower chamber of the Assembly, the House of Representatives, in 2004 and similarly passed by the upper chamber, the Senate, in 2006, former President Olusegun Obasanjo refused to sign the Bill into law when it was sent to him the by National Assembly in March 2007, claiming that he was opposed to some sections of it.

The fresh campaign to have the Bill passed into law before the end of the year is coordinated by Media rights Agenda in Lagos. The petition and sign up forms are available on MRA's website, http://www.mediarightsagenda.org; and the coalition’s website, http://www.foicoalition.org. Signed forms can be returned to Media Rights Agenda by courier or hand deliveries, or by scanning and emailing them to: foi@mediarightsagenda.org, or faxing to (+234) (0)1 493 0831 or (+234) (0)9 413 3772.