A New Information Charter

An open society is a precondition for good, accountable and transparent government. It is a well-known fact in the United States of America from where we borrowed the presidential system, that the freedom of the press, as it is known today, derives from the belief of the founding fathers that a free press is essential for the protection of democracy. The need was to spread information so that intelligent democratic government would be possible. Had the founding fathers believed that the end of democracy could be been served by the control of the press or the suppression of information, they would have so provided.

A free press is essential to the building of a modem democratic state. Without it, autocracy becomes the norm and democracy becomes impossible. And it must be understood that the freedom of the press is not a privilege of the publisher or the editor or journalist, but rather the fundamental right of the people to know how they are governed. This right, as advocated by APGA, goes with responsibility.

The essential characteristic of a dictatorship or an authoritarian government is that its action cannot be questioned or enquired into. The business of government is conducted in secrecy without the governed making any input.

Public expenditure pattern is arbitrarily determined by a few person acting in secret. This not only accounts for the high level of wastage of resources in government, it is a sure recipe for monumental corruption that is the hallmark of our government today.

The conduct of an APGA government will be open. The Presidency will be democratized and accountable to the Nigerian people at all times. APGA will, therefore, facilitate the passing of an Access to Information Act, which will guarantee the constitutional rights of Nigerians to know exactly how they are governed. APGA will, therefore. Introduce the following measures:

i. The Official Secret Act and all similar laws will be abrogated and replaced with an Access to Information Act. The Act will specify the rights and obligations of the press in accessing information without official restrictions.

ii. All documents that do not have national security implications will be declassified.

iii. Assets declarations will be publicly accessible.

iv. Civil servants will no longer be gagged from giving information as required.

v. The laws of defamation and libel will be reviewed in line with the Access to Information Act.

vi. The ownership of television stations, radio stations, newspapers, news magazines, and other news media will be fully deregulated and subject to minimum registration fees in order to give full freedom of information to the people.

vii. Restrictions on the publication of certain classes of official news, such as election results from polling stations and collating stations will be lifted in the interest of transparency.

The APGA Freedom of Information Charter will protect our democracy from abuse and corruption so that the wealth of the nation can be used for the development of the country for the benefit of the masses.