Our fears for FoI Bill- Mark

By Ben Agande & Inalegwu Shaibu
President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, yesterday gave the assurance that the Senate will expedite action on the Freedom of Information, FoI, Bill but expressed fears that irresponsible journalism may endanger national security if certain clauses are not excluded.

Mark who gave the assurance during a meeting in his office with Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, stressed that the Senate would water down specific sections in the bill that bother on national security.

Mark described the FoI Bill as a Nigerian bill and not a media bill, warning that the media must check against its abuse when eventually passed into law.

He said: “With every position of authority, there is basic responsibility. You have to guarantee that the media will check their members. There is no problem with the passage of the bill, but the media should be responsible enough in using the bill.

“I want to assure you that we are as anxious as you are about that bill and we will pass the bill as soon as possible. It will be considered clause by clause to ensure that nobody acts irresponsibly.

“There are certain things that this bill must exclude. If we do not, we will be acting irresponsibly. I think that half bread is better than none. It is better to have a watered down FoI Bill than not having one at all.

“My humble suggestion would be that we will look at it, we would pass a bill I can assure you that everybody will be happy with, that is the most important thing that everybody should be happy with the bill at the end of the day, there will be no winner, there will be no loser when we pass the bill. I can give you that assurance.”

Expressing fears about the abuse of the bill by the media, he said: “The assurance that we the ordinary citizens would like to get from those of you who control our lives now is that the media should be responsible enough in operating that bill or using any aspect of the bill.”

Why Obasanjo did not sign it

He told the NPAN executive that national security implication was the reason why former President Olusegun Obasanjo failed to assent the former bill passed by the National Assembly.

In defence of Obasanjo he said: “Obasanjo did not sign it into law because obviously you cannot ignore national security issues in any bill that we pass. And I think that first version, the one that went there had national security implications, but those are not there now, so there is no problem passing the bill.”

NPAN urges Senate to pass it

The NPAN President, Chief Ajibola Ogunsola had earlier in his presentation urged the Senate to expedite action on the bill having been passed by the House of Representatives.

He said: “Perhaps you have the historic opportunity to be the one to preside over the Senate that will pass the bill and then also allow President Goodluck Jonathan to also use the historic opportunity to sign the bill into law.

“That is why we are here, and we hope that before the elections start in April, you will pass the bill, we know you command the respect of the Senate, the citizens of this country will get this bill passed perhaps in the next week so that before the elections begin, before the end of the month, that bill will become a law of the federal republic of Nigeria.”

Also speaking during the meeting, Chairman of Peoples Daily Newspaper, Alhaji Isa Funtua urged the Senate not to criminalise libel while passing the bill.

He noted that there are many laws in the country to tackle libellous publications, adding that the media has put in place an Ombudsman to check against the abuse of the bill.

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