Group Executive Editor of ITREALMS Media Group, Mr Remmy Nweke, who won the Most Outstanding Promoter of the FOI Act category of the Goodluck Jonathan Freedom of Information Act Awards organised by the Media Rights Agenda, explains his motivation for promoting the act, trends of usage and compliance and how journalists can maximise the use of the act.
What informed your decision to help publicise and amplify the use of FOI, as you did, that earned you the award?
What pushed me to amplify the use of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act was a simple but critical observation: as members of the press, we simply weren’t asking enough of the right questions. The FOI Act has been a legal reality in Nigeria since 2011, yet across many newsrooms and public discourses, it was historically treated as an exclusive tool reserved only for high-profile corruption exposés.
I realised we were vastly underutilising this powerful legislation, particularly in the realm of developmental journalism. My decision to actively publicise and champion it stemmed from a conviction that FOI is not just about unearthing scandals; it is about gathering hard data for long-term accountability and national development. Public budgets, government contracts, project execution statuses, and service delivery metrics are all fundamentally FOI matters.
If journalists ask more precise questions, citizens get more concrete answers, and governance naturally improves. Driven by this, I felt compelled to use my platform, ITREALMS Media, to bridge this gap. We began actively by making the FOI Act an essential daily reporting tool rather than a final, desperate resort.
What’s your advice for journalists and media organisations on how to use FOI as much as they should?
I would offer four practical action points for journalists and media houses:
• Integrate FOI into Daily Beats, Not Just Investigations: Do not wait for a massive scandal to break. Use the FOI Act for routine beat reporting across vital sectors like education, healthcare, roads, and power infrastructure. Probing questions like “How much was released for X project in Q1?” or “What is the current staffing level at Y hospital?” are developmental stories, and developmental stories are inherently FOI stories.
• Be Specific and Persistent: Vague information requests invite vague responses, official foot-dragging, or outright denials. When writing a request, ask for exact documents, specific dates, and precise formats. Most importantly, follow up aggressively. The Act mandates a 7-day response window. If an agency defaults, appeal it immediately. Consistency and persistence are core parts of the job.
• Institutionalise it within Newsroom culture: Editors must lead this shift by routinely asking, “Have we FOI’d this?” during editorial and story pitch meetings. Media organisations should also designate internal FOI officers, maintain a repository of request templates, and track response metrics. Collaboration is also key; a single, data-rich FOI disclosure can yield multiple angles for various reporters.
• Banish the Fear: Remember that accessing public information is a constitutional right, not an administrative favour. The more frequently and relentlessly we wield this tool, the more normalised institutional compliance will become.
What has been the trend in usage based on your coverage, and what is your advice for government and agencies on compliance?
Based on our extensive coverage, the trend in FOI usage is growing, but it remains highly uneven. On a positive note, a larger demographic of journalists is now aware that the FOI Act exists and can be utilised, largely thanks to civil society organisations (CSOs) like Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and magnifying platforms like these maiden awards. We are seeing a steady rise in requests, particularly around budget performance and local project tracking.
However, the major bottleneck remains low response rates. Too many public institutions still either outright ignore statutory requests, falsely claim “no record exists,” or erroneously cite legal exemptions to shield information. The primary gap we face today is no longer a lack of awareness—it is a lack of compliance.
Advice for Government Agencies and Public Institutions:
• Prioritise Proactive Disclosure: Do not wait for a journalist or citizen to drop a formal request on your desk. Proactively publish your budgets, procurement data, and project updates on your official websites. FOI requests should ideally be a fallback option (Plan B) for the public, not the initial catalyst (Plan A) to get public institutions to speak.
• Train Public Relations and FOI Officers: Many bureaucratic delays and denials stem from basic institutional ignorance rather than deliberate malice. Frontline public affairs officers must be thoroughly trained on the provisions of the law, statutory timelines, and the fundamental principle that overriding public interest must always trump administrative secrecy.
• View Public Inquiries as a Service, Not a Threat: Citizens and journalists asking questions is a profound sign of public engagement and trust in state institutions. Providing fast, honest, and comprehensive responses is the fastest way for any administration to eliminate damaging rumours, build institutional legitimacy, and earn public credibility. When public agencies comply promptly, journalists get accurate stories faster, citizens get developmental services quicker, and the government gains trust. In the end, everyone wins.
