Abuja -The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Tuesday directed desk officers nationwide to grant members of the public access to information on activities of the scheme.
The Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, gave the directive at the 2015 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) desk officers training workshop in Abuja.
The three-day workshop has as its theme: “Broadening the Horizon of FOIA Desk Officers for Enhanced Compliance“.
He said: “I have given all state representatives, schedule officers the approval that whenever anybody comes for information and that information is with you, make it open as quickly as possible.
“There are some aspects that you cannot make available, where you are in such a situation get across to us as quickly as possible.
“Because we have not been doing that, we are giving room for people to fill up the gap when they request for information and they don’t get it.“
The DG said the training was aimed at enhancing the competence of schedule officers in handling issues regarding the implementation of the FOIA 2011.
He noted that the NYSC management was committed to innovations aimed at harnessing all resources to deepen the quest of government in attaining full realisation of the Act.
“The Act as we are all aware empowers members of the general public to have access to information that are in the custody of public sector organisations, thereby promoting transparency in governance.
“With the commitment of the present administration in fighting corruption, promotion of the rule of law and other fundamentals of good governance; the implementation of the freedom of information act must be given additional impetus.
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“Not only by the National Youth Service Corps, but all other stakeholders in the Nigerian project.
“It is in furtherance of this that I seize this opportunity to announce that corps members would be used to enlighten our citizens at the grassroots on their right to seek for information on government policies and their implementation.
“The scheme will liaise with the Federal Ministry of Justice to ensure a quick take-off of this initiative,“ he stated.
Also speaking, Mrs Stella Anukam, the Head of FOI Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice said that the implementation of the act was the best way to minimise corruption in the public service.
She noted that if the act was used effectively, government would begin to address and tackle corruption as well as enable members of the public hold public servants accountable in office.
Anukam observed that some of the challenges that hindered implementation of the act include inadequate training and lack of institutional capacity to implement the Act in public institutions.
Others are, inadequate financial provision for FOIA activities, lack of good grasp of the FOIA on the part of public institutions and lack of informal redress mechanism.
According to Anukam, disclosure of information is an essential component of transparency and good governance as public officers who deny access to information are liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000.
“Section 10 of the FOIA provides that falsification of records and documents carry a minimum of one year sentence for the public officer or head of the institution involved,“ she added.
Anukam, therefore, proposed that compliance with FOIA be a mandatory yardstick for performance assessment, evaluation and oversight of public institutions during budget presentation and defence.
She also proposed the introduction of the “FOIA Day” as a way of increasing the level of sensitisation and enlightenment, adding that it should also be included in the curriculum of schools and universities activities.
The training is being attended by desk officers from the 36 states and the FCT. (NAN)
