BENIN CITY – The Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Mr. David Ugolor has called on the Edo state government for quick action to as a matter of urgency take the draft Edo state freedom of Information (FOI) bill forward by presenting it to the Edo State House of Assembly as an Executive bill

Mr. David Ugolor who was represented by Mr Leo Atakpu, Deputy Director of ANEEJ said this during a press conference on Civil Society Advocacy to Support Anti-Corruption and Rule of law in Nigeria (CASARN) held on April 27, 2021 at ANEEJ head office, Benin City.

He noted that “the press conference is to highlight the successes recorded with the project and showcase areas the Civil Society organizations and journalists can follow up to sustain the right against corruption, strengthen rule of law and the protection of human rights in Nigeria.”

According to him, corruption is a major issue in Nigeria and the current administration has earlier taken steps to tackle the challenge and to advance the rule of law.

He disclosed that, the goal of the CASARN project is to enhance governce in Nigeria by contributing to the fight against corruption, straighten rule of law and reinforcing prevention mechanisms and enhancing Civil Society and the public engagement.

Mr. Ugolor added that, in order to achieve the purpose of which the project was designed, ANEEJ has trained Civil Society Organizations (COSs) and Journalists on several issues including Open Government partnerships (OGP) and its commitments ,open contracting , public procurement, observation and contract monitoring in Edo state.

The Executive Director said “ANEEJ has also worked with other stakeholders to develop integrity and accountability strategy for Edo state which has been validated by stakeholders

“Through the implementation of the CASARN project, ANEEJ has evolved innovative appliance ranking of Federal Ministries, Department and Agencies.

On the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO), he said the ranking is the first of its kind in Nigeria and has been acknowledged by the OGP National Secretariat, Open Contracting Partnership International, Bureau of Public Procurement Development Partners and other key stakeholders.

“The purpose of the ranking is to encourage the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to comply with the use of NOCOPO by publishing procument data for public Access and use, thereby improving transparency process “.

In addition, Mr. Ugolor stated that the press conference specially appreciates the Rule of Law Anti- Corruption (ROLAC) programme manager, Mr. Danlandi Plang.

Also, he accredited the success of the programme to the FOI counsel of Nigeria, Justice Development and peace commission (JDPC), Benin conference of NGOs, Edo state and the New Apostolic church center for Development, Benin City.