In apparent reaction to the senate debacle, stakeholders in Abuja on Friday, say the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) can help address obstacles and biases faced by women across various spheres.
They spoke at a town hall meeting on the application of FOIA, organised by the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice and the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS).
The event, which had as its theme, “Leveraging FOIA to Promote Women’s Rights and Inclusion in the Fight Against Corruption,” brought together representatives of the Minister of Justice, Minister of Women Affairs, and the Minister of Youth.
Delivering the keynote address, the Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, noted that increasing the use of FOIA by Nigerian women would help eliminate systemic obstacles in both personal and professional spheres.
Fagbemi was represented by Mr Garuba Godwin, Head of the FOI Unit at the ministry of justice.
“Women should leverage on the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 to accelerate their inclusion in the activities of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“The president is very ready to improve women’s involvement in the governance of this great country,” he said.
He further said that the fight to accelerate action should not be left for the women alone.
“The other gender must ensure that women are not discriminated against as both genders have equal right before the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“According to this year’s slogan, “Let’s Accelerate Action for gender equality. All hands must be on desk to ensure gender inclusivity in human endeavour”.
In her remarks, Executive Director of CTA, Faith Nwadishi, said that the event was designed specifically, to coincide with the commemoration of the 2025 International Women’s Day.
According to her, corruption is almost becoming a pandemic, pervasive and a threat to our collective existence as a people.
“We need not be reminded that corruption undermines the rule of law, perpetuates inequality, and disproportionately affects women and marginalised communities.
“Nevertheless, our gathering today is not to lament and see women as victims of corruption but as amazons and powerful change agents.
“All women need is information, access to resources, and opportunities to be able to demonstrate the transformative role that promotes accountability, transparency and good governance.”
According to Nwadishi, FOIA enables citizens including women to hold governments and institutions accountable for their actions.
“It allows them to track budgets, monitor programmes, and expose corruption where and when they occur”.
Also speaking, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, emphasised that women’s rights, gender equality, and inclusion were causes deeply important to her.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim, who was represented by EmemMaria Offiong, noted that as Nigeria joined the world in marking International Women’s Day (IWD), it was crucial to highlight the ministry’s commitment to collaboration and creating an enabling environment for these ideals to thrive.
“To achieve this, we need to create more awareness about the Freedom of Information Act, reshape public perception of the Act, and explore various ways to apply it effectively,” she said.
A spat between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate President, Godswill Akabio over seating arrangement had degenerated rapidly to include allegations of sexual harassments, leading to a controversial six-month suspension of the senator representing Kogi Central district.
