Nigerian media, civil society honour Edet Ojo

Edetaen Ojo

Comments on the Award and insight on the FOI Act

Lanre Arogundade

Femi Falana

Nigerian media, civil society honour Edet Ojo
Qasim Akinreti, Lagos.

The African conference on Access to Information Awardee, Edetaen Ojo of the Media Right Agenda, has been honoured by the Nigerian Media and Civil Societies Organisation in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

Speaking at the reception in Lagos, Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana commended the unique role played by Mr Ojo and his advocacy campaign on the Freedom of Information Act.

The award conferred on Mr Ojo at the just concluded Pan African conference on Access to information in Cape Town, South Africa was formally presented to him by Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Communications, Mr Labaran Maku.

Members of the Nigerian media and Civil Society Organisations used the reception to also discuss the strategies for ensuring that the FOI law worked in Nigeria.

According to the President, West African Bar Association,  Mr Femi Falana, Rotimi Obamuwagun, Deputy President, Nigerian Union of Journalists and Lanre Arogundade of the International Press Council, the media will have to work out modalities for the public enlightenment programmes and publications of the law in major Nigerian languages for the people.

They all agreed that this would assist Nigerians to ask questions on how funds were disbursed for projects, raise issues on abandoned projects and finances of the Local, State and Federal Government.

Mr Edetaen Ojo dedicated the award to the tireless struggle of the Nigerian media for a better society and challenged the media to redouble their efforts to actualise the goals of the law.

The Award

The working Group of the Windhoek +20 Coalition said that Mr Ojo was given the award for his tireless struggles over 15 years in advancing media and information issues, culminating in Nigeria’s historic freedom of Information Act in 2011.

The reception was attended by a broad section of Nigerians including teachers in journalism schools, media practitioners, freedom of information advocates, writers, environmental activists, transparency groups, and the clergy.

Williams