The leadership of the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to take decisive action towards combating corruption in the country by empowering citizens with information through the effective implementation of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
The call was made on Friday morning via a press statement in commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD). The statement, signed by MRA Programme Officer, Maimuna Momoh and made available to DAILY POST, argued that doing so would go a long way to engender transparency and accountability in governance.
According to the statement: “The pervasive corruption in Nigeria is not only undermining democracy in the country” but also “subverting electoral processes, perverting the course of justice and the rule of law.”
Putting in place measures that would assist in combating corruption would assist in addressing the aforementioned ills, MRA claimed.
Stressing that the Freedom of Information Act has the potential to rein in the rampant corruption in the country as it would instil transparency in governance, the group argued that the imperative for government at the centre to ensure its full implementation can no longer be ignored.
Without an effectively functioning Freedom of Information framework, MRA pointed out, most of the identified stakeholder groups, particularly media, the private sector, civil society, the academia, youths and the public, cannot play a meaningful role in stamping out corruption.
MRA further expressed dismay that despite the strong anti-corruption platform upon which President Muhammadu Buhari campaigned for election into the office of President over seven years ago, his administration has not demonstrated any decisive or concerted effort to ensure the effective implementation of the FOI Act.
The group, nonetheless, is of the view that it is not too late for the President to give the much-needed recognition to the FOI Act, noting that it would enable him to write his name in the sand of time.
Take decisive action to combat corruption – Group tells FG
Last modified: December 9, 2022
