NIGERIA Invest in 2012-13 - Newsdesk Media

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the policy agenda
“The improved governance and fight against corruption
witnessed in the past few years have improved the
international perception of Nigeria”
In the same year, the law was returned to both chambers of
the country’s National Assembly and was eventually passed in
May 2011. The Act covers seven key areas:
• Guarantees right of access to information held by
public institutions, irrespective of the form in which it
is kept, and is applicable to private institutions that
utilise public funds, perform public functions or
provide public services;
• Sets a requirement for all institutions to proactively
disclose basic information about their structure and
processes, and mandates them to build the capacity
of their staff to effectively implement and comply
with the provisions of the Act;
• Provides protection for whistleblowers;
• Makes adequate provision for the information needs
of illiterate and disabled applicants;
• Recognises a range of legitimate exemptions and
limitations to the public’s right to know, but makes
these subject to a public interest test, which may, in
deserving cases, override such exemptions;
• Creates reporting obligations on compliance with the
law for all institutions affected by the Act. Reports
are to be provided annually to the Federal Attorney
General’s office, which will make them available to
the National Assembly and the public; and
• Requires the Federal Attorney General to oversee the
effective implementation of the Act and report on
execution of this duty to Parliament annually.
Institutional reform
The Freedom of Information Act is only one of a number of
corporate governance and anti-corruption reforms that have
been undertaken in Nigeria over the past decade. In 2001,
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
was established to help in the fight against what was then
considered a preponderance of economic and financial crimes
in Nigeria, including money laundering. According to the
EFCC, these crimes had severe negative consequences for
invest in nigeRia 2012-13
the country, leading to decreased foreign direct investment in
and harming its national image.
During a recent presentation, the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) outlined some of Nigeria’s
achievements in institutional and governance reform. It pointed
out that between 1960 and 1999, the EFCC estimated that
about $400 billion in oil revenues had been stolen by the
country’s rulers. Over the same period, two-thirds of the
population had been living in poverty. The lack of infrastructure,
high unemployment and poverty levels led to insecurity and
conflict, said the UNDP.
Reforms in Nigeria began in 1999, and have since
continued. The first move was the Minerals and Mining Act of
1999 (subsequently repealed, and replaced by the Minerals
and Mining Act of 2007), followed by the Petroleum Industry
Bill of 2008, the Public Procurement Act of 2007, the Niger
Delta Development Commission Act of 2000, and the
Sovereign Wealth Fund Act of 2011, as major moves towards
improving the country’s governance environment.
The European Commission (EC) is helping to fund the
Niger Delta reforms to the tune of about ¤200 million via the
European Development Fund, as part of the European Union’s
2011 Annual Action Plan for Nigeria. Andris Piebalgs,
commissioner for development at the EC, said the commission’s
support for Nigeria will help the country to consolidate peace
in the Niger Delta and improve governance.
Among the funding initiatives is support for state and
local governance reform. The programme will aim to improve
transparency, accountability, and the quality of public finance
and human resources management across six states in the
area. The programme will also build the capacities and
processes of these states in public finance programming and
management, and will work towards improving the delivery
of social services at local level.
The 2011 Action Plan also includes support for
anti-corruption programmes in Nigeria. Funding will be used to
help strengthen the institutional and operational capacity of
the main anti-corruption agencies in the country, and provide