Outcry as Kwara FOI bill seeks to place public access under governor’s grip

• The projected Kwara State FOI Bill 2025 has triggered nationalist outcry implicit a arguable clause granting the politician sole discretion implicit entree to information
• Civil nine groups, journalists, lawyers, and absorption figures person unanimously rejected Section 31, calling it unconstitutional and a menace to transparency
• Despite this, lone authorities agencies voiced support, prompting accusations of manipulation and attempts to override national FOI protections

The projected Kwara State Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill 2025 has stirred important contention arsenic civilian nine organisations, ineligible professionals, journalists, absorption parties, and acrophobic citizens person unanimously rejected a arguable clause that seeks to springiness the politician unchecked powers implicit entree to information.

The clause, known arsenic Section 31, was introduced into the Bill by the authorities government. It was powerfully opposed during the nationalist proceeding held astatine the Kwara State House of Assembly (KWHA) connected 19th May 2025.

The enforcement limb of Kwara authorities authorities has sought to found power connected what accusation is publically accessible. Photo: FB/Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq
Source: Twitter

Kwara seeks to rewrite FOI rules

Section 31(1) introduced by the Governor states, "Notwithstanding immoderate proviso of this Law, nary accusation shall beryllium made disposable to immoderate applicant without the anterior consent of the Governor successful writing".

Section 31(2), besides recently introduced by the Governor, further states, "No 1 acting pursuant to this Law shall beryllium liable successful immoderate mode if non-compliance with the sections successful the Law is owed to hold successful the Governor granting his consent".

Legit.ng learned that large stakeholders astatine the bills' nationalist proceeding connected Monday firmly rejected these caller provisions and called for their contiguous removal.

They maintained that adjacent if the State House of Assembly insists connected enacting a authorities mentation of the FOI Act, it indispensable not contradict oregon weaken the national law, chiefly not done restrictive clauses similar Section 31.

Oppositions unite successful dependable against anti-public move

These stakeholders are the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) represented by the NUJ chairman, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Some acrophobic citizens who were besides contiguous astatine the proceeding and rejected the provisions were Architect A.M. Kawu, Barrister Oyelowo, Alhaji Shola Muse, Mr. Bayo from Baboko, and Mr. Shakirulah Ayodeji.

Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), 1 of the state’s starring civic organisations, described the conception arsenic regressive and intended to weaken transparency.

The radical faulted a connection released by the Office of the Speaker, accusing it of misrepresenting the hearing's outcome.

ENetSuD said:

“This is simply a wide denotation that the non-state actors, who are the existent members of the nationalist that the authorities is meant to serve, unanimously rejected the obnoxious conception that the Governor has inserted to cherry-pick what accusation to disclose and who to supply accusation to.”

On the different hand, lone authorities ministries and agencies expressed enactment for the Bill successful its existent form.

These see the Commissioner for Communication, the Ministry of Justice represented by the Director of Civil Litigation, the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Herald Newspaper, and the Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation.

Their support, however, was described arsenic isolated and not reflective of the broader nationalist sentiment.

“Their presumption was lone arsenic the dependable of the government, which did not get the enactment of immoderate non-state histrion contiguous successful the nationalist proceeding connected the FOI Bill,” ENetSuD added.

An investigative journalist, Dare Akogun, described Section 31 arsenic a superior menace to transparency and the rights of citizens.

“This is simply a setback for transparency and antiauthoritarian governance. It is astatine variance with the main FOI Act 2011 of the Federation, which they argued volition spot an unconstitutional regularisation connected a Federal Law,” helium said.

He continued:

“As a practising investigative writer and a fact-checker of 15 years’ experience, who devoted his master’s thesis astatine the University of Lagos (2018) to examining the practicability of the FOI Act for Nigerian journalists with a nuance connected prospects and challenges, I see this clause a brazen affront to the precise ideals that the instrumentality was designed to uphold.”

Residents fly Kwara homes

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a deadly communal clash implicit a disputed cashew workplace had near astatine least 2 radical dead and respective others injured successful Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The convulsive confrontation, which erupted connected Friday betwixt residents of Osi and Ẹpẹ-Opin communities, has forced galore locals to fly their homes.

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Source: Legit.ng