Reps accelerate passage of amendment
NASS okays FoI Bill
THE National Assembly has agreed to re-work the 2011 budget and indications have emerged that it may be reduced by about N500 billion. And as a reaction to the agitation by the public, the Senate has passed the harmonised version of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill.
Already, the House of Representatives has begun an accelerated consideration of the N4.407 trillion Amendment Bill sent to it by President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday.
It was learnt that the amendment bill was the result of the negotiations that had been going on between the leadership of the National Assembly and the President over the alleged inflation of the budget bill earlier sent by the President.
The president of the Senate, David Mark, at the commencement of plenary session yesterday read a letter from Jonathan in which he said that some developments in the country had made it imperative for the legislature to amend the 2011 appropriation bill passed by the legislature.
"I seize this opportunity to express my gratitude for the patriotism, cooperation and steady support of the leadership and distinguished members of the Senate in our collective efforts in managing the resources of the nation for the benefit of all Nigerians. I wish to notify you that recent developments have made it necessary for me to request your kind consideration of the attached proposed amendments to the 2011 budget proposal. It is my hope that the National Assembly will kindly consider and approve these requests expeditiously'', the letter read.
Speaking at a press conference after the sitting, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze, said the chamber was ready to grant the President's request as quickly as possible because both the Executive and the Legislature had carried out some discussion. "We will pass the budget as soon as possible because a lot of discussions have taken place'', he said.
Asked what the margin of reduction would be, he said it would be about N500 billion.
The National Assembly passed a budget of N4.9 billion and forwarded it to the Executive for assent but the president raised an observation that the deficit level was high and asked for reduction of the budget figure.
Also yesterday, the Senate adopted the conference report on the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill retaining the original title as proposed by the Senate. The House of Representatives, in its version of the bill, had recommended that the title of the bill be changed to "Right to Information Bill".
The conference also adopted the Senate version of Clause 4 which says: 4[1] "an application for access to a record or information under this Act shall be made in accordance with section 2 of this Act.'' Section 2[1] of the bill says "Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act, law, of regulation, the right of any person to access or request information, whether or not contained in any written form, which is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution howsoever described, is hereby established'', while Clause 2[2] states that "an applicant herein need not demonstrate any specific interest in the information being applied for and 2[3] adds "any person entitled to the right to information under this bill, shall have the right to institute proceedings in a court to compel any public institution to comply with the provisions of the Act.''
Clause 4[2] of the bill states: "For the purpose of this Act, any information or record applied for under this Act that does not exist in print but can by regulation be produced from a machine, normally used by the government or public institution shall be deemed to be record under the control of the government or public institution.''
Clause 4[3] says: "Illiterate or disabled applicants who by virtue of their illiteracy or disability are unable to make an application for access to information or record in accordance with the provision of section (1) above, may make that application through a third party.''
Section 6 (1) of the bill provides that where an application is made and the receiving institution feels that another institution has a greater interest in the information, it should it transfer within three days and not later than seven days.
The Senate also confirmed the appointment of Justices Mary Odili and Nwali S. Nwuta as Supreme Court justices but suspended action on the nomination of Justice O. Ariwoola on the ground that he has some issues to settle.
In a related development, senators of northern extraction endorsed the candidature of Mark for another term saying that the governors of Kwara and Gombe states, Bukola Saraki and Alhaji Danjuma Goje were not eligible for the job.
Addressing a press conference after the plenary session yesterday in the National Assembly, the northern senators led by the chairman, Senator Umaru Dahiru, said they had endorsed both Mark and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu as their candidates, adding that there would be no other candidates for the two jobs.
It was learnt that the amendment bill was the result of the negotiations that had been going on between the leadership of the National Assembly and the President over the alleged inflation of the budget bill earlier sent by the President.
Civil society groups and professional bodies have commended the National Assembly's Conference Committee on the Freedom of Information Bill for its speedy conclusion of the harmonization of the bill.
The action of the National Assembly, the groups jointly said in a statement issued in Abuja, "would be leaving a legacy for future generations of Nigerians."
Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda said in a statement on behalf of the group: "The successful completion of the work of the joint Conference Committee brings us closer to the day when we can herald our country into the community of nations that guarantee their citizens the essential right of informed participation in government. We remain hopeful that that day will come before the end of this Parliamentary term."
The House of Representatives unanimously passed the Bill on February 24, 2011. The Senate followed suit on March 16, 2011. In compliance with the Standing Orders of both chambers, the Senate named its Conference Committee members on March 16, 2011 while the House of Representatives designated its members on May 11, 2011.
The Conference Committee members include: Senator Ayogu Eze, Chairperson; Henry Seriake Dickson, Co-Chairperson; Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), Senator Adamu Talba, Senator Anthony Manzo, Senator Kamorudeen Adedibu, Senator Otaru Ohize, Ahmed Wadada, Mohammed Sani Takori, Patrick Ikhariale, Nkem Abonta, and Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
At its meeting of May 19, 2011, the Committee had harmonized the differences between both versions of the bill, adopting provisions which strongly protect the right of access to information and ensure the effectiveness of the law.
The civil society organizations said they were pleased with the outcome of the harmonization and praised members of the committee for the seriousness, urgency and patriotic zeal with which they approached their task.
Ene Enonche, Co-ordinator of Right to Know Initiative added her group's voice thus: "We hope that with the completion of the work of the joint Conference Committee on the FoI Bill, the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly can proceed urgently to finally schedule the adoption of the harmonized version of the Bill before the end of the week. We welcome the repeated commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan to assent promptly to the Bill when he receives it, and look forward to the fulfillment of that promise before the Inauguration."
The organizations called on both chambers of the National Assembly to urgently adopt the report of the Conference Committee so that the harmonized version of the Bill can be sent to President Goodluck Jonathan for prompt assent.
The groups that jointly endorsed the National Assembly's action on FOI include: Right to Know Initiative (R2K), Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Network of National Human Rights Institutions, West Africa (NNHRI-WA), Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative (CRAI), African Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC), Nigerian Guild of Editors, West African Bar Association (WABA), Legal Defence and Aid Project (LEDAP), Legal Resources Consortium (LRC), Institute for Media and Society (IMS), Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA), CLEEN Foundation, ActionAid Nigeria, Lawyers in the Media (LIM), Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Centre for Public Opinion and Media Research (CePOMeR), Cares Global Network (CGN), Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Women advocates Development And Support Initiative (WADSI), Inspired Children Foundation (ICF), and International Press Centre (IPC) office in Nigeria.
Source: Senate may cut 2011 budget by N500b (http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49184:senate-may-cut-2011-budget-by-n500b&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)