By Ijendu Iheaka
Umuahia. Feb. 10, 2026 (NAN) The Citizens Centre for Integrated Development and Social Rights (CCIDESOR) has advised Gov. Alex Otti of Abia to establish strong institutions that can help preserve his legacies after his tenure.
The Executive Director of the organisation, Dr Emeka Ononammadu, gave the advice, on Tuesday, at a one-day “Freedom of Information (FOI) Act Round Table for Stakeholders in Umuahia”.
Ononammadu said the strongest anchor point for Otti’s good legacies in Abia would be to build strong institutions, which could withstand future bad leaders in the state.
In a lecture, entitled “Freedom of Information Act in Nigeria: Proactive Disclosure, Compliance Obligations and Action Points”, he said that concrete actions should be taken to save the nation’s future from bad leadership.
He cited the huge exploits by the former Governor of the defunct Imo, late Sam Mbakwe, and some achievements of former President Goodluck Jonathan, pointing out that bad leadership had destroyed their noble efforts.
He said that Otti and other performing governors must recreate their Local Governments and make them functional to sustain their good work or lose them after leaving office.
Ononammadu said that Nigerians had the option of reawakening and building sustainable good governance by reviving the local government system or continue to suffer under bad political leadership.
He said that with the Act, the government had permitted citizens to check and verify its activities by requesting, receiving and utilising information available to them for the common good.
He further said that the roundtable was organised to ensure that necessary actions were creatively taken to make the local government system work again in the country via open governance.
He said that under section two of the FOI Act – Proactive Disclosure – MDAs and LGAs should release information without waiting for a citizen’s request.
He said the Act was enacted to compel MDAs and LGAs to perform duties they already owe Nigerians, adding that following its guidelines would make the local government system better and stronger.
The State Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission, Mrs Uche Nwokocha, in her lecture, focused on using the FoI Act to retrieve information at the local government levels.
Nwokocha said that the Act is a component of the Freedom of Expression provision, which many countries, including Nigeria, had in their constitutions.
She said that the Act, being a Fundamental Human Right, allows citizens the opportunity to request information from public organisations and private ones funded or transacting businesses on behalf of the public.
She said the Act supercedes the 1911 Official Secret Act, which protects officers from giving out information for public interest.
She said that when Local Governments give information, they boost good governance and political participation.
She advocated that LGAs should create websites and FOI Desks to ensure they attend to information requests on time in order to improve good governance. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
IEI/USO
Edited by Sam Oditah
