Sign FOI Bill Before Sunday, NPAN Tells Jonathan

Leadership (Abuja)

Kazeem Akintunde And Olaolu Oladipo

27 May 2011

Lagos — As Obaigbena takes over from Ogunshola || The umbrella body of owners of newspapers and magazines in Nigeria, the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to endorse the Freedom of Information Bill (FoIB), before May 29 as a show of his government’s commitment to fight corruption and impunity in the country.

The association, in a communiqué at the end of its annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lagos yesterday, also commended the National Assembly for paving the way for Nigeria’s entry into the club of democratic countries that cherish the free flow of information to improve transparency and good governance.

At the close of the meeting, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of ThisDay, was unanimously elected president of the association. He took over from Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, the immediate past chairman of the THE PUNCH.

Others elected are: Malam Kabiru Yusuf, deputy president; Ms Comfort Obi, general secretary; Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, assistant general secretary; Mrs. Maiden Ibru, treasurer; and Mr. Frank Aigbogun, publicity secretary. Other members of the executive are Mallam Ismaila Isa, Mr. Sam Amuka, Mr. Ray Ekpu and Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa as ex-officio.

In his valedictory statement, the outgoing president of the NPAN, Chief Ogunshola, sketched the challenges facing the association and urged members to rise to the occasion. The association gave him a standing ovation for his leadership.

The new president, Mr. Obaigbena, thanked the members for electing him and promised to continue the fight to entrench free speech and sound journalism as well as fashion a new road map for the association in order to place the news media at the cutting edge of new digital age.

Meanwhile, indications emerged yesterday that certain interest groupings and powerful individuals are mounting pressure on Jonathan to withhold his assent to the recently passed Freedom of InformationBill.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo refused to assent to the bill when it was passed in 2007. The bill had to go through the legislative process all over again.

The Senate and the House of Representatives had, this Tuesday passed the bill into law, thus raising expectations that media people as well as other members of the general public would now have access to official transactions.

Though the content is still shrouded in secrecy, the bill seeks to provide a right of access to public information or records kept by government, public institutions and/or private bodies carrying out public functions for citizens and non-citizens of the country.

Sources told LEADERSHIP that those opposed to the passage had inundated the offices of the president, his personal aides and those believed to be close to him with a series of contacts to ensure that the much-needed assent is withheld at least before Sunday.

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