Almost four years into its current sojourn in the National Assembly, the Freedom of Information Bill was finally passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The House had first passed the Bill in 2006, followed by the Senate but former President Olusegun Obasanjo refused to append his signature to turn it into an Act. All but one (Clause 18) of the 34 clauses in the bill were passed by the House on Thursday.
The clause deals with “drafts” and preliminary information, which in the opinion of the House, cannot be cited as a public document because work on them has not been concluded.
The explanatory note of the committee on why the clause was deleted, reads, “This clause was deleted because it relates to information that has not been perfected and no public institution can be held responsible for proposals and decisions not perfected.”
The passing of the bill followed the adoption of the report of the joint Committee on Information/Justice on the document.
The Deputy Clerk of the House, Mrs. Cordelia Akunwafor, immediately read the bill for the third time.
Following the refusal by Obasanjo to sign the Bill, it was reintroduced again in 2007 and it has taken the current assembly over three and a half years before it was passed by the House on Thursday.
However, the next hurdle is the Senate, which is yet to pass the bill in concurrence with the House.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government , while reacting to the passage by the House, asked the Senate to follow suit in order to enable President Goodluck Jonathan to sign it into law before the end of the current administration on May 29.
Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. Labaran Maku, gave the advice at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
Maku said he would also ensure that issues surrounding the Nigerian Press Council as well as enhanced salary package for media workers were resolved while he remains in office.
The minister who addressed the press in company with National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Mr. Mohammed Garba, also urged media workers to do their own part by insisting on ethics of the profession and truth in their reporting.
Also, the Nigerian Guild of Editors said it received with great joy the passage of the FOI Bill by the House.
Presdent of the Guide, Gbenga adefaye, in a statement, on Thursday said, “This is the second time within a decade, that the House would respond to our collective hunger for openness and transparency in the administration of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The FOI law will certainly aid accountability in our public life.