ENetSuD Lauds Supreme Court FOI Ruling, Criticizes Kwara Assembly’s Transparency Failures

The Elites Network for Sustainable Development (ENetSuD), a leading civic organization based in Kwara State, has lauded the recent Supreme Court judgment affirming the applicability of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act across all tiers of government. The group described the verdict as a significant step forward for democratic governance and transparency in Nigeria.

Speaking during a media briefing on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ENetSuD Coordinator, Associate Professor Abdullateef Alagbonsi, welcomed the ruling, describing it as a long-overdue victory for accountability advocates.

“For years, our FOI requests were denied under the pretext that the Act had not been domesticated in Kwara State. The Supreme Court has now settled that debate—states can no longer use legal technicalities to obstruct access to public records,” Prof. Alagbonsi stated.

However, the ENetSuD Coordinator expressed disappointment in the Kwara State House of Assembly, accusing it of failing in its duty to promote openness and transparency.

“This Assembly does not represent the will of the people; it acts primarily in the interest of the executive,” he said. “The only time it appeared to oppose the Governor was during discussions on the FOI Bill—and even then, the effort was quickly abandoned.”

ENetSuD recalled that the FOI Bill was originally passed by the 8th Assembly in May 2019, but returned by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to the 9th Assembly with proposed amendments. These included extending the response window for FOI requests from seven to fourteen days, increasing penalties from N100,000 to N500,000, and replacing the “fine or jail” clause with a “fine and jail” provision. Rather than revisiting the bill, the Assembly allowed it to lapse quietly by June 23, 2019.

“The current Assembly had a clear opportunity to champion citizens’ right to information. Instead, they chose silence over service,” Alagbonsi added.

ENetSuD is widely recognized for its grassroots accountability initiatives, including project tracking, participatory budgeting, and the now-defunct “Social Audit” program, which was initially supported by the Kwara State Government. The group’s audits exposed over N1 billion in mismanaged funds across six public projects before the initiative was discontinued.

“We engaged with the government in good faith under the Social Audit program. But when our findings began to reveal uncomfortable truths, the state abruptly ended the partnership,” Alagbonsi noted. “That decision spoke volumes about the administration’s true stance on transparency.”

ENetSuD’s innovative civic tools, such as its “Follow the Money” and participatory budget-tracking models, have empowered thousands of citizens in rural communities to hold public officials accountable. The organization is now urging the Kwara State Government to immediately comply with the Supreme Court’s directive and open public records to scrutiny.

“This ruling is not a suggestion—it is the law,” Alagbonsi emphasized. “The people now have a constitutional right to know how their resources are being managed.”

He also called on journalists, civil society groups, and legal practitioners to collaborate in ensuring the full implementation of the court’s decision in Kwara State.

“With this judgment, the people have secured a significant win. It’s now our collective responsibility to ensure this right is upheld,” he concluded.

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