Policy Alert trains Akwa Ibom civil servants on FOI Act

The training is for desk officers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Akwa Ibom State.

The training which has as its theme, “Utilizing the FOI Act 2011 as a tool for Combating Public Sector Corruption at the Subnational Level”, holds on friday 16th August, 2019.

The programme officer, Faith Paulinus, said the training is part of the Strengthening Citizens’ Resistance Against Prevalence of Corruption (SCRAP-C) project, which Policy Alert is currently implementing in Akwa Ibom State, with support from Actionaid Nigeria.

“The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011 is an important piece of legislation aimed at empowering citizens and state actors and institutions to promote transparency and accountability in government” Paulinus said.

“There is a huge confusion and clear dearth of capacity within state institutions on how the FOI Act could be utilized as a tool for anticorruption. Part of the confusion stems from the provisions of the Official Secrets Act which is seen by many as detracting from the rights of citizens to access publicly held information. The other part relates to whether the Act is applicable to subnational jurisdictions.”

“The proposed training seeks to address this gap and the general lack of knowledge on the provisions of the Act and inability of state actors at the state and local levels to respond to FOI requests according to its provisions.”

Paulinus disclosed that Policy Alert will be mobilizing, building capacity and facilitating a number of citizen-led efforts by communities, media and civil society in Akwa Ibom State to utilize state budgets and the FOI Act as tools for combating and changing attitudes around corruption, in the next phase of the training.