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Freedom of Information
Coalition Launches Signature Campaign
LAGOS, Tuesday, September 11, 2007: The Freedom of Information
Coalition (FOIC) has launched a signature campaign in support of a
petition asking the National Assembly to pass the
Freedom of Information Bill into law before the end of 2007.
The Coalition is aiming to secure at least one million signatures in
support of the petition from Nigerians across the country and in the
Diaspora. The petition will be presented to the National Assembly on
September 28, 2007, this year’s “International Right to Know Day”.
In the petition, for which it is seeking public
support, the coalition expressed concern over the inordinate delay in
passing the Bill into law, saying the failure to enact the law
“undermines democratic and accountable governance by denying us our
fundamental right to know and participate fully in the government of our
country”.
The coalition also insisted that: “The right of
citizens to access public information underpins a democratic system of
government and is a core requirement for good governance. Indeed, it is
a human right.”
Barely 24 hours after the campaign was launched,
several hundreds of Nigerians scattered across the globe have
enthusiastically signed up for the petition and the number of
signatories have continue to grow by the minute.
The Freedom of Information Bill, when it becomes law,
will give every Nigerian citizen a right of access to information held
by government agencies and departments, subject to the exemptions
specified in the Bill. It has been pending in the National Assembly
since 1999.
The campaign is being coordinated by the Secretariat of the Coalition,
which is hosted by Media rights Agenda (MRA) in Lagos, with a liaison
office in Abuja. The petition and sign up forms are available on the
coalition’s website,
http://www.foicoalition.org. Signed forms can be returned to the
Coalition’s Secretariat by courier or hand deliveries, or by scanning
and emailing them to:
foi@mediarightsagenda.org, or faxing to (+234) (0)1 493 0831 or
(+234) (0)9 413 3772.
For further
information, please contact:
Mr. Ayode
Longe
Media
Rights Agenda
10 Agboola
Aina Street, off Amore Street
Ikeja,
Lagos
Tel: (+234)
(0)1 493 6033 & 493 6034
Cell:
(+234) (0)802 329 8628
E-mail:
ayode@mediarightsagenda.org
Or
Ms Ene
Enonche
32 Amazon
Street
Maitama,
Abuja.
Tel: (+234)
(0)9 413 3771
Cell:
(+234) (0)803 451 6807
E-mail:
ene@mediarightsagenda.org
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