Dr. Joe Abah, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms |
Dr.
Joe Abah, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, says
the Freedom of Information Act (FoI Act) will eliminate corruption from the
Civil Service.
Abah
told the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja that enforcing the FoI Act
was the most important way to minimise corruption in the public service.
He
spoke after the inauguration ceremony of the bureau’s Anti-Corruption
Committee.
The
director-general said there was the need to make public service more
transparent to effectively curb corruption.
“This
can only be achieved if the provisions of the FoI Act are applied,’’ he said.
Abah
said the law, which came into force on May 28, 2011, was “very important to
Nigeria as it pushed Nigeria into the league of more than 90 countries which
have ratified similar legislation.”
He
said the Act aims to provide access to public records and information that is
consistent with public interest and the protection of personal privacy.
“It
also protects public servants from any adverse consequences of disclosing
certain types of official information without authorisation.
“This
will, hopefully, start to erode the culture of secrecy under which the public
service was run during the military era and which is a convenient cover for
corruption.’’
Abah
said, in compliance with the FoI Act, BPSR had engaged in proactive disclosure
and information about the bureau is readily available on its website, www.bpsr.gov.ng.
“A
more transparent public service will be a less corrupt one and a less corrupt
public service will be a better-performing public service.”
He
said Nigeria must win the fight against corruption, saying “government’s
initiative to inaugurate the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit in all MDAs
is systematic and will help to curb corruption’’.
Abah
said the country’s second most powerful legislation is the FoI Act, and is
superseded only by the Nigerian Constitution.
“If
we are able to use that Freedom of Information Act effectively, then we will
begin to address and tackle corruption.
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