A Kwara based civil society group, Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD) Felicitated with Kwarans on the occasion of new year celebration, giving assurance that the new year 2020 will make vital information accessible to all Kwarans as the Kwara State House of Assembly is putting all hands on deck to ensure the timely passage of the Freedom of Information Bill into law.
The organization’s Coordinator (Dr. Alagbonsi Abdullateef), ENetSuD said that the Kwaran populace over the years has been kept abreast of various financial dealings and expenditures by successive administrations of Kwara State.
The statement reads: “Successive administrations of Kwara State Government have put Kwarans in total darkness on governance issues, especially on how public funds are spent. What successive governments have called Transparency and Accountability is publishing of budgets in the public domain as if budget translates to how the money budgeted have been spent. Transparency, Accountability and Open Governance do not end with that, but it goes as far as giving citizens the right to ask questions and have access to information on how the monies budgeted have been spent to the last kobo by the government without any stress”.
ENetSuD further maintained that Freedom of Information Law will make the government to be more accountable following long period of impunity the previous government enjoyed.
“The best way Kwara governance can be opened is by having a Freedom of Information Law that will empower citizens to ask questions on how public funds are spent. The law will help government to keep appropriate records of incomes and expenditures, promote citizens’ trust for government, make government more responsible, reduce fake news and exaggeration on projects’ costs and execution details, prevent diversion of public funds, strengthen citizens’ capacity to *#FollowKwaraMoney* and empower citizens to help anti-corruption agencies to kill corruption in Kwara state”.
The group, however charged Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and Speaker of Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi to deliver on their campaign promises that FOI Bill will be passed and signed this year, adding it is the best gift that Kwarans will have in 2020 and will be a lasting legacy of their (Abdulrahman and Danladi) administration.