The Edo state government is yet to domesticate the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 10 years after it was signed into law by ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice, (ANEEJ) has said.
The group said a draft of Edo State FOI bill prepared by the legal drafting team of Edo state Ministry of Justice during Governor Godwin Obaseki’s first tenure (2016-2020) has not been taken forward.
Programme manager for ANEEJ, Mr. Innocent Edemharia, who stated this at a press briefing in Benin City, urged Governor Obaseki to revisit the bill and present it to the Edo State House of Assembly for consideration.
Innocent added that the Edo draft bill had been subjected to consultation with stakeholders, including Civil Society Organisations under the Open Governance Partnership (OGP) framework.
He noted that the FOI advocacy efforts have so far paid off in Ekiti and Imo states.