With less than a month to go until the end of the parliamentary session in Nigeria, the freedom of information bill will be a priority, according to Senate officials.
The big task remaining, however, is to harmonize the House and Senate bills, and a joint committee to do the job has not been appointed.
Nevertheless, a spokesman for the Senate, Avogu Eze, is quoted in 234next.com as putting the 2011 Appropriation Bill, the Petroleum Industry Bill and the FOI bill at the top the agenda.
“The FOI bill will equally be given accelerated treatment in harmonising the two versions passed by both chambers,” he said, according to reporter Emmanuel Ogala.
Similarly, The Tribune indicated that Eze, who chairs the Senate Committee on Information and Media, told National Assembly reporters, “I’m aware that efforts are being made for the details of the 2011 Appropriation to be finalised so that the president can sign it and possibly come up with supplementary appropriation which the government has already hinted and we are also mindful of fulfilling our promise of passing the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) and send it to the president before the sixth National Assembly winds down.”
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