Why is the House of Representatives dragging its feet in passing the popular Freedom of Information Bill?
Don’t forget that for every bill, there are sponsors. I sponsors bill. For it to scale through, I must convince my colleagues. If there is a dearth of information about the intention or what you want to do, it can suffer a set back on the floor. Don’t forget, these are versatile Nigerians from various fields. We have chartered Accountants, former Commissioners, Council Chairmen, Lawyers, deputy governors, wives of former governors. These are the people that dominate the House of Representatives. We need to convince them when you are presenting your bill for debate. That is the level where bills suffer defeat or set back. Does that mean that the seven sponsors have not done enough in this regard? Before, I will say yes. But, when it is represented in the future, they will get their acts right and be able to convince their colleagues on the need to pass the FOI Bill. Nigerians who are the constituents of the Representatives are rooting for the bill. Yes. The House itself has bureaucracy.
