Senate has stabilized the polity, says Ndoma-Egba

 Excerpt from an interview conducted by Kodilinye Obiagwu of The Guardian newspapers with Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs (The Guardian newspaper, September 11, 2006. Page 8) on why the Senate considers passing the Freedom of Information Act as very important.

How far has your committee gone with the Freedom of Information Bill?

We will in the next few weeks submit our report to the Senate in plenary. The Senate has been anxious to receive that report because that bill remains one of the most significant that this Senate has received. Our major challenge is institutionalizing the various reforms – political, social, and economic – and we are looking at those pending bills with a high reform value or content. The Freedom of Information Bill is one of the most significant bills in that regard.

What are the major ingredients of the bill?

One is the access to information held by institutions funded by public funds. However, information that affects national security and intellectual property will be guarded. But basically, it follows the same pattern of all Freedom of Information Bills in the world.