We Promote Open Gover nment – Semenitari

The Rivers State Government says its policies and programmes will continue to be anchorsed on transparency and accountability as a means of encouraging open government.

The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari disclosed this during a Roundtable Conference on the Freedom of Information Act organised by the State office of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), yesterday in Port Harcourt.

The commissioner, who was represented by a director in the ministry, Mr Paulinus Nsirim, also siad that the ministry was working with the Rivers State House of Assembly committee on Information to see the possibility of Rivers people tapping into the act.

She said that the Amaechi-led administration has demonstrated enough zeal in the quest for open governance, stressing that this situation informed the various town hall meetings organised across the state.

The Commissioner, also said that, Rivers was the first state in the country and African to host a forum on open governance, and noted the need for media practitioners to take up the challenge of ensuring that people are properly sensitised on the importance of the Act.

In his lecture titled, “Understanding the FOI Act,” a lecturer in the Department of Economics , Faculty of social sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Dr Hycinth Ajie said that, the passage of the Act has liberalised access to information in the country.

Dr Ajie who also said that the act will facilitate the process of institutionalising good governance in the country, however, said that its implementation may be hampered by the level of insecurity in the country.

The University don also canvassed the review of sections that excludes some agencies from any obligation to make access to public easy to citizens who require such information in the public interest.

Earlier in a welcome address, the state director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Oliver Wollugbom said that the act has opened up windows of public participation in governance, thereby instilling the culture of transparency and accountability in governance.

Mr Wollugbum, however, said that the onus now lies with the National Orientation Agency and major stakeholders in the information sector, including every Nigerian to be proactive to the provision of the FOI law.

Participants at the end of the summit urged the sensitisation programme for the public to know the provisions of the act, while further stressing the need for political will to make it work in the state.

Chindah Faith