NIGERIA Invest in 2012-13 - Newsdesk Media

Progress in
governance reform
Governance and corruption have dogged
perceptions of Nigeria for decades, but the
situation is changing. Heather McKenzie
considers the raft of legislation that aims to
tackle corruption and raise accountability
In May 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan signed into
law the Freedom of Information Act in a move perceived
as an important step in the improvement of democracy,
transparency, justice and development in Nigeria.
“With the new law, Nigerians finally have vital tools
to uncover facts, fight corruption, and hold officials and
institutions accountable,” said Ene Enonche, coordinator of
Right to Know, an organisation established to champion the
right to access officially held information at all levels of public
the policy agenda 41
The Nigerian National Assembly in Abuja.
New legislation has brought improvements
in democracy, justice and transparency
institutions and to establish legal standards for these rights
in Nigeria. The legal affirmation of this right is a necessary
precondition for the establishment of open and democratic
government in the country.
Under the Act, all publicly funded institutions will have
to be open about their operations and expenditure, while
citizens will have the right to access information about their
activities. Whistleblowers who report wrongdoing by their
employers or organisations will be protected from reprisal.
Other anti-corruption and governance-reform bodies in
Nigeria welcomed the move. Maxwell Kadiri, associate legal
officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative, said the law
would “profoundly change how government works in Nigeria”.
The Freedom of Information Act was first submitted to
parliament in 1999, only to be stalled and eventually vetoed
in early 2007, by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.
invest in nigeRia 2012-13