MRA Welcomes Speaker Tajudeen Abbas’ Proposals for Strengthening FOI Compliance

Media Rights Agenda (MRA) today welcomed the proposals made yesterday, June 24, 2025, by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, aimed at improving compliance by public institutions with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011 and ensuring its effective implementation. It described the proposals as “a renewed opportunity to institutionalise transparency in public affairs and strengthen citizens’ trust in Government.”

Commending the Speaker’s call for “mandatory and enforceable budgeting for FOI compliance by all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs)” of government during the annual appropriation process, the organisation urged the National Assembly to take urgent and concrete steps to implement the proposals.

In a statement issued in Lagos, MRA’s Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Ayode Longe, praised the Speaker for his “clear recognition of the critical role that access to information plays in ensuring transparency, accountability, and participatory governance”, adding that “We consider his proposals, which are in total alignment with similar recommendations by Media Rights Agenda over the years, to be a timely and important step towards addressing the persistent culture of secrecy and non-compliance that has undermined the effectiveness of the FOI Act for over a decade.”

In an address delivered on his behalf on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of a workshop titled “Upholding Accountability and Transparency in Governance: A Comprehensive Review of FOIA Law for Public and Corporate Organizations”, the Speaker said the 10th House may consider FOI compliance as a condition for budgetary considerations for those MDAs that are reluctant to comply with the Act and habitually fail to honour their obligations under the law.

Mr. Longe expressed support for the Speaker’s position that the financial allocations for FOI-related activities in the Federal Government’s budget of less than 0.0005 percent of the national budget, is negligible and unacceptable, saying “We are in complete agreement with the Right Honourable Speaker that transparency cannot be treated as a marginal expense, which is consistent with the point we made in our report titled ‘A Vote Against Transparency: A Report on Allocations for Freedom of Information Implementation in 2025 Federal Budget’, released on January 15, 2025.

He said:  “We are particularly encouraged by the Speaker’s acknowledgement that many public institutions fail to implement the FOI Act due to a lack of dedicated resources. His recommendation that compliance with the FOI Act should be institutionalised through budgetary provisions is a practical and impactful intervention that aligns with international best practices on open governance.”

Mr. Longe pointed out that since the enactment of the FOI Act, MRA and other civil society organizations have consistently drawn attention to the reluctance or refusal of many public institutions to meet their obligations under the law, including failure to respond to requests for information, non-designation of FOI Desk Officers, non-submission of annual compliance reports, failure to provide appropriate training for their officials, and failure to proactively publish the required categories of information, among others.

He argued that the Speaker’s proposals, if implemented, will ensure that resources are allocated specifically for the setting up FOI units or desks in public institutions; staff training on implementation of the Act and proactive disclosure obligations; the proper maintenance of records, including digitization, as well as preparing and submitting mandatory annual FOI compliance reports.

He said:  “We urge the National Assembly to take concrete legislative and oversight measures to actualise the Speaker’s proposals. These could include amending relevant appropriation regulations, guidelines or practices to include FOI compliance lines and incorporating performance indicators tied to transparency, proactive disclosures and responsiveness to requests for information.”

According to him, as Nigeria continues to battle corruption, insecurity, underdevelopment, and public mistrust in government, full and effective implementation of the FOI Act should not be simply a legal obligation but a governance imperative, with the Speaker’s proposals providing a renewed opportunity to institutionalize transparency and strengthen citizens’ trust in Government.

Mr. Longe said Media Rights Agenda stood ready to support the National Assembly, the Executive, and other stakeholders in ensuring the realisation of the proposals and the full implementation of the FOI Act for the benefit of all Nigerians.  

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