177 of 180 FOI requests unanswered in Niger Delta, new ranking exposes transparency crisis

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region have raised concerns over persistent failures by public institutions in the region to disclose information to citizens, saying the trend weakens transparency and accountability.

The concern was raised on Wednesday at a virtual dialogue organised to commemorate the 2026 International Day for Universal Access to Information.

The event, themed, “Strengthening Access to Public Information and Accountability in the Digital Age: Perspectives from the Niger Delta,” was organised by the Niger Delta Open Governance Observatory, an initiative of Policy Alert, in collaboration with Open Alliance Nigeria.

The dialogue brought together civil society organisations, journalists, researchers, citizens and representatives of public institutions.

At the event, organisers unveiled the proposed Niger Delta FOI Ranking 2026, a regional assessment designed to measure compliance with Freedom of Information (FOI) obligations and access to public information across the region.

Poor response to FOI requests

Presenting the framework for the ranking, Faith Paulinus, lead, Governance Reforms and Anti-Corruption at Policy Alert, said a 2024 baseline assessment revealed major weaknesses in the region’s response to information requests.

According to him, only three of 180 FOI requests sent to public institutions across the nine Niger Delta states received responses, a response rate of 1.7 per cent.

The assessment also recorded an average proactive disclosure score of only 8.33 per cent across the nine states.

Only Imo State currently has a state-level FOI law, while Delta State’s FOI Bill, passed in 2019, is yet to receive assent, the organisers said.

The 2024 baseline ranking placed Abia first with 35 points out of 100, followed by Delta and Imo with 30 points each.

Cross River and Edo tied on 15 points, while Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ondo and Rivers recorded the lowest scores.

The assessment also reported that Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Delta rejected information requests outright.

Information gaps and public accountability

The Executive Director of Policy Alert, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, said access to public information was particularly important in the Niger Delta because of the region’s large public revenue flows and persistent development challenges.

He identified revenues from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (now merged into the Ministry of Regional Development), the 13 per cent derivation fund, Federation Account Allocation Committee allocations and Host Communities Development Trusts established under the Petroleum Industry Act as major sources of public resources requiring improved checks.

Mr Bolton-Akpan said the region simultaneously faces unemployment, environmental degradation, maternal mortality and low life expectancy despite the substantial public resources flowing to its states and communities.

He said access to information was necessary to enable citizens to ask questions about the management of those resources.

The discussion also highlighted the consequences of poor fiscal disclosure.

BudgIT’s recent assessment of state finances in the post-subsidy era excluded Akwa Ibom and Rivers because complete budget implementation reports required for the analysis were unavailable.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the exclusion prevented BudgIT from comparing the two oil-producing states with 34 other states on revenue and expenditure between 2022 and 2025.

BudgIT said the absence of complete records meant citizens had limited information with which to assess how the states managed increased revenues following the removal of the petrol subsidy.

Akwa Ibom’s disclosure concerns

The discussion is particularly relevant to Akwa Ibom, where concerns over access to fiscal information have featured prominently in recent accountability debates.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in September that although the Akwa Ibom State Government published its second-quarter 2026 Budget Implementation Report, BudgIT said the document contained significant data gaps that prevented citizens from properly tracking government expenditure.

The newspaper also reported in January that the state had slipped deeper into fiscal secrecy under Governor Umo Eno, including a reduction in the detail contained in its budget implementation reports.

In another development, the Federal High Court in Uyo granted two lawyers leave in May to commence judicial review proceedings against Akwa Ibom’s 31 local government councils over their alleged refusal to release records requested under the FOI Act.

The applicants sought information relating to public spending, subsidy programmes, policies, licences and approvals issued by the councils.

Calls for stronger enforcement

Participants at Wednesday’s dialogue called for stronger enforcement of the FOI Act by accountability institutions like state houses of assembly, fiscal responsibility agencies and the courts. They also asked for the enactment of state-level FOI laws in states lacking them.

They also demanded improved proactive disclosure of budgetary and fiscal information by state and local governments.

Participants further called for continued collaboration between civil society organisations, the media and public institutions to improve transparency, sustain public pressure for accountability and take legal action where necessary.

The panel session, titled “From Information Gaps to Information Integrity,” examined the difficulties faced by journalists and citizens seeking public records and the role of digital tools in improving access while addressing misinformation.

Policy Alert said the 2026 ranking would build on its 2024 baseline assessment and provide an updated comparative assessment of access to public information across the Niger Delta.

The organisation invited civil society groups, researchers and public institutions to collaborate on the initiative.

The development comes on the heels of continued push for transparency in Niger Delta institutions.

PREMIUM TIMES reported last year that the NDDC had faced persistent concerns over its failure to publish detailed budgets and financial statements, as well as poor compliance with FOI requests.

In a region where governments and development agencies receive substantial public resources, the new assessment places access to information at the centre of the debate over whether citizens can effectively assess how those resources are managed.