THE NATIONAL Commission for Colleges Education (NCCE) has been urged to draw up the time-table for the inauguration of Freedom of Information Committee (FOI Committee) in each of federal, state and private colleges of education in the country.
The call was made by participants at the end of a training workshop on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) organised by NCCE held at the College of Education Akwanga, Plateau State a week ago.
According to a communiqué issued at the end of the programme and signed by Mr Ameh Isaac Oche, Mr Onaolapo Caleb Olusegun and Mr Jibril Abdulrahaman, Aliyu Maina Madu, stated that participants at the workshop were drawn from the information and public relations departments/units of federal, state and private colleges of education.
The communiqué noted that the training became necessary so as to train relevant officers on the philosophy behind FOIA, which is making public records available in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
The workshop, the communiqué stated, charged information or public relations officers to be proactive in developing proposals that will make all colleges of education in Nigeria to implement FOI Act 2011.
“The workshop also emphasized the need to come up with strategies that will help to manage information effectively and eliminate cyber attack, bullying, fake news and hate speeches,” the communiqué stated.
It added that colleges that are yet to have FOI Committee are to set in motion the mechanism to do so by appointing a desk officer from Information or Registry as chairman, with members drawn from other sections/units and schools of the college as directed by NCCE.
