INEC’s ₦1.5bn demand on FOI: What Is digital alternative? Asks Remmy Nweke - ITREALMS

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INEC’s ₦1.5 billion charge for a Freedom of Information (FOI) request raises fresh concerns about transparency and digital readiness. REMMY NWEKE in this edition of Telecoms Clinic @ITREALMS analyses and asks for digital alternatives to paper-based bureaucracy in Nigeria’s electoral system.

The Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recent demand of ₦1.5 billion as the cost of granting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for the National Register of Voters and the list of polling units has sparked widespread debate about transparency, access, and digital accountability in Nigeria.

While many have condemned the figure as excessive, the discussion is more nuanced than it appears. Producing a certified true copy (CTC) of a national database involves more than simple photocopying. 

Comparative guide cost of administering Freedom of Information Act: A response to INEC’s clarification by President Aigbokhan - ITREALMS

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Nigeria has a voting population of 93. 4 milliion and these records are stored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in both hard and digital formats.

A recent request by Messrs. VC Ottaokpukpu & Associates to INEC has generated significant public debate. The law firm requested access to the complete national voters’ register and the list of existing polling units in all electoral wards across Nigeria.

Protest: GOCOP condemns attacks on journalists by security agents, says act undemocratic - ITREALMS

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The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) condemns, in very strong terms, the serial attacks on journalists covering the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest, describing the act as undemocratic and repressive.

GOCOP notes that journalists are partners in national development as well as critical stakeholders in the advancement of democracy and civil liberties and therefore deserve to be protected, and not suppressed as the security agents tried to do during the protest.

Oyo State gets Electricity Regulatory Commission Act - ITREALMS

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Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Friday, signed into law the Oyo State Electricity Regulatory Commission Bill 2024.

The governor, who performed the signing ceremony at the Conference Room of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, said the signing was to give the state opportunity to develop its own roadmap to sustainable electricity.

'NIMC's Public Procurement Act needs urgent amendment' - ITREALMS

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The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Aliyu Aziz Abubakar has charged members of the management of the Commission to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the country’s Public Procurement Act, reports ITREALMS.

He gave this charge in Lagos on Monday, while delivering his remarks at a 3-day Interactive Workshop on Procurement and understanding of the World Bank procurement process, procedures, and Ecosystem Enrolment readiness, organized by the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) Project, in collaboration with NIMC.

Buhari signs Act to establish National Agricultural Development Fund - ITREALMS

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Nigerian President, General Mohammadu Buhari, retired, has signed the National Assembly (NA) bill seeking the establishment of National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) into an Act, reports ITREALMS.

According to an official gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria published on October 30, 2022, with Number 192 and volume 109 sighted by ITREALMS, as certified by the clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Amos Olatunde Ojo.