Oshiomhole In A Fight Between The Elephant And The Pit

By Ehichioya Steve Odion

Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has appealed to Governor Godwin Obaseki to quickly revisit the Freedom Of Information Bill (FOI) by sending the bill to the Edo State House of Assembly for consideration and passage.

The organization made this known today during a press briefing by the Executive Director of ANEEJ, David Ugolor who was represented by the Program Manager, Mr. Innocent Edemhanria.

"If States have their own FOI law, it will also bring to an end the raging controversy about the applicability of FOI Act at State level where several groups both within and outside Edo State are now in court".

He said the goal is to democratize the civic space and foster an enabling environment for civic space /digital rights in Nigeria by advocating for enabling laws, policies and regulations within the civic space for digital rights and freedom of information.

Edemhanria said so far, the advocacy in this regard has paid off in Ekiti and Imo States, where the governors have enacted their own state FOI laws, adding that the effort to get other state governors to take the same step has continued till date as ANEEJ is currently working with Gatefield and other organizations under the "keep it open" cluster program to advocate for the passage of FOI law in Edo, Kaduna and Adamawa states.

He recalled that during the first tenure of Governor Godwin Obaseki, a draft Edo State FOI Bill was prepared by the legal drafting team of Edo State Ministry of Justice. He also said that the bill has been subjected to consultation with stakeholders, including Civil Society Organizations under the Open Government Partnership (OGP) framework. He however said that since Governor Obaseki's second term in office, work on the draft bill has not been taken forward.

He said the essence of the press briefing was to again draw the attention of Governor to the draft Edo State FOI Bill and appeal to him to revisit the draft bill and present it to the Edo State House of Assembly as an executive bill for consideration.