Journalists want full domestication and enforcement of FOI, FR and PP Acts/Laws
BY GORDI UDEAJAH
Journalists of the Correspondents Chapel of the Abia State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ) have called for the domestication and full enforcement of the provisions of the Freedom of Information ( FOI ) Act of 2011, Fiscal Responsibility ( FR ) Act of 2007 and the Public Procurement ( PP) Act of 2007.
They lamented that doing these has not been done in all the states and even where they were, implementing their provisions has not been most effective.
Decrying this scenario at Umuahia, the state capital during a one-day Media Roundtable organized by African Center for Human Advancement And Resource Support ( CARS- Africa ) which has barrister Amaka Biachi as the Executive Director ( ED ), the Journalists argued that if the laws were domesticated and effectively enforced, such that the contraveners/violators were sanctioned to deter contravention, there should have been better accountability and transparency in governance in the country.
In Abia state , although the Public Procurement Act 2007 was domesticated since 2012, the implementation has not been fully impacting while domesticating the Fiscal Responsibility and the Freedom of Information Acts is yet to be.
At the Round Table, which was held under the Rule of Law And Anti-Corruption ( RoLAC ) project and titled ” Support to Civil Society Advocacy towards Strengthening Key Legislative Frameworks for Increased Accountability and Good Governance in Abia State”, the CARS-Africa Executive Director ( ED ) said it is a women-led non -partisan, not-for- profit organization established to educate and strengthen people on their fundamentals rights and help to imbibe the culture.
” We operate with support from the National Endowment for Democracy ( NED ) Washington DC, USA, our focus being on human rights, accountability and transparency, conflict mitigation , women and children issues including engagement in different types of advocacy to promote social justice”.
The ED ( Biachi ) decried the scenario Abia state government was alleged /accused in some quarters of awarding contracts in violation of Part VI, Section 25(2)(ii) of the Public Procurement Act 2007, which provisions according to her ( ED ) , partly stipulates, that Invitation to the Bids, shall be advertised in at least two national newspapers”.
The Coordinator of Abia State RoLAC Chapter, barrister Peter Omenka, said that the three Acts were aimed for better accountability, transparency and good governance and urged journalists to constructively engage government on the domestication and implementation of the provisions of these Acts.
He said ” the tendency has been to blame the state actors to promote good governance while the people ( governed ), instead of playing their own part, became indifferent”.
The meeting discussed the role of Civil Society Organizations ( CSOs ) in strengthening the implementation of the legislative frameworks, best practices for media engagement in promoting accountability and transparency in governance.
It also identified the barriers, challenges, and measures that can be effected by the media actors to enthrone better accountability and transparency in governance
The journalists therefore called for sustained public education, strict enforcement of these laws, maintaining that without overtly doing so by prosecuting and punishing the culprits and contraveners, these Acts would remain mere cosmetic.
