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FOI Act

15.01.2025 Featured REPORT: Only 3 MDAs Have Committed to Information Transparency Since 2023

Published 15th Jan, 2025

By Opeyemi Lawal

Only three public institutions in Nigeria have committed to setting aside funds for public transparency since 2023, a new report by Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a civic organisation monitoring, promoting and defending the rights of journalists, has revealed.

According to the report published on Wednesday, only the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the Federal Ministry of Works and the National Library of Nigeria have consistently allocated resources to implementing the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act of 2011.

“Three public institutions demonstrated a steady commitment to the FOI Act implementation by allocating resources across all three years,” the report states.

“The Federal Ministry of Works is a notable example, with allocations of N5,000,000 in 2023, N39,280,000 in 2024 and N3,913,840 in 2025 totalling 48,193,840 over the three years.

“Similarly, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning allocated N27,000,000 in 2023, N3,000,000 in 2024 and N15,000,000 in 2025, totalling N45,000,000 over three years.

READ ALSO: REPORT: NBC, Nigeria’s Information Regulatory Agency, Scores 0% on Accessibility —The Worst of 40 MDAs

“The National Library of Nigeria also stands out with allocations of N1,000,000 in 2023, N2,000,000 in 2024, and N5,000,000 in 2025, totalling N8,000,000.”

The report showed that while some public institutions have not been committed to the implementation of the FOI Act yearly, others do not have allocations for the FOI in their budgets.

For instance, the Ministry of Defence and the Federal Ministry
of Works and Housing had allocations of N9,501,070 and N6,000,000 respectively for FOI-related activities in 2023 but nothing in 2024 and 2025.

The Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Steel Development also did not have any allocation for information accessibility in their 2023 and 2024 budgets but set aside N3,710,000 and N3,504,982 respectively in 2025.

MRA revealed that when compared within the context of the national budget, FOI allocation across public institutions amounts to only 0.000464 per cent in the budget.

“When compared to the total national budget of 46,019,639,175,313 (Forty-six trillion, nineteen billion, six hundred thirty-nine million, one hundred seventy-five thousand, three hundred thirteen naira), the FOI allocation constitutes an extremely small fraction (approximately 0.000464 per cent,” the report read.

READ ALSO: FOI Index: NTA, NAN, Radio Corp Score Zero in Responsiveness, Information Disclosure

It stated that most of the agencies which allocated funds for information accessibility dedicated less than one per cent of their funds.

The FOI Act, 2011, mandates that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria make information accessible to members of the public on request. It also demands the deployment of officers designated to discharge these responsibilities.

In October, FIJ reported how the National Television Authority (NTA), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), four stated-owned media charged with disseminating information to the public, scored zero on responsiveness and information disclosure.

Months before that, FIJ also reported how the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) ranked least among several agencies on information transparency.

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Published 15th Jan, 2025

By Opeyemi Lawal

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