BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
Judge of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights, Arusha, Tanzania, Justice Stella Anukam (2nd right), presenting Special Recognition Award to former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Executive Director of Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Ms Ann Fyonu (2nd left), while the Executive Director of International Press Centre (IPC) Lagos, Mr Lanre Arogundade (left) and Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Mr. Edetaen Ojo watch with keen interest, at the maiden edition of National Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards ceremony in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY CHIkA OKEKE.
As part of its commitment towards the implementation of Freedom of Information (FOI) law, Former President Goodluck Jonathan has linked series of fake news peddled in the country to bad governance, just as he advocated for access to public information.
He stated this in Abuja yesterday at the maiden edition of National Freedom of Information (FOI) Awards ceremony, organised by the International Press Centre (IPC) Lagos in collaboration with Media Rights Agenda (MRA), with the support of European Union through component 4b: Support to Media of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Project.
Jonathan was bestowed with 'Special Recognition Award' for his substantial and lasting contribution towards the advancement of the right to information in Nigeria and his patriotic act in signing into law the Freedom of Information Bill on May 28, 2011.
According to him, "If the process of governance is not reasonably opened up, some people will generate too many false information that will create problems for the society".
He was optimistic that for any society to grow and develop in a sustainable manner, that the people should be granted access to official information, adding that the society would not function properly when the citizens lack adequate information on government business.
Represented by the Executive Director of Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Ms Ann Fyonu, he said that his administration enacted the FOI act on May 28th, 2011 in order to expand not only media freedom but give Nigerians reasonable access to information on the activities of government for the benefit of the country.
Jonathan added, "When citizens are well informed, they will not fall victims of the dangers of the growing spread of fake news in our society, which is often driven by speculations and congestion, arising out of the dearth of accurate and reliable public information".
While commending the awardees and organisers of the event for the initiative, he stated that access to reliable information is important for the growth and development of any society.
In her opening remarks, Judge of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights, Arusha, Tanzania, Justice Stella Anukam commended the organisers for inviting her to chair the event of distinguished Nigerians from diverse fields of endeavour that are united by a common interest on the issue of public access to information.
She said that the mandate of African Court on human and peoples' right is to strengthen the human right protection system in Africa and ensure compliance with the African charter on human and peoples' right, as well as other international human rights instruments,
Anukam reiterated the need for Nigeria to make the Article 346 declaration align with citizens and non-governmental organisations direct access to the African Court.
She harped on the need to examine some of the implementation challenges that had continued to impede the effectiveness of the law and access to right of information to Nigerians.
Also speaking. Head of Democracy, Governance and Migration Section, Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Clement Boutillier said that there is no democracy without a free press.
He stated that FOI act enabled the Nigerian media to fulfil a very noble role, adding that the European Union (EU) is promoting Freedom of Information (FOI) at home.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade said that despite the challenges of the implementation of FOI act both on the supply (government) and the demand (public) side, that stakeholders are convinced that its a milestone worth celebrating.
He said the event provided an opportunity to take stock and strategise on improving the implementation and usage of the law in the years ahead, just as he commended the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) for their enormous sacrifice during the 12-year struggle.
Arogundade added, "We cannot take for granted the immense support of media organisations and individual journalists, who contributed in no small measure towards bringing FOI Act into reality".
At the end, 29 awards were presented to individuals, organisations and public institutions including the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Nigerian Investment Promotion for promoting the right to information in Nigeria and facilitating the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
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