Niger Delta FOI assessment finds only three responses to 180 requests

A proposed regional ranking has highlighted persistent failures by public institutions in Nigeria’s Niger Delta to respond to Freedom of Information requests and disclose public records. The concerns were raised on Wednesday during a virtual dialogue marking the 2026 International Day for Universal Access to Information. The meeting was organised by the Niger Delta Open Governance Observatory, an initiative of Policy Alert, in collaboration with Open Alliance Nigeria.

Faith Paulinus, Policy Alert’s lead for Governance Reforms and Anti-Corruption, presented the proposed Niger Delta FOI Ranking 2026. He said a 2024 baseline assessment found that only three of 180 information requests sent to institutions across the region’s nine states received responses, representing a 1.7 per cent response rate. The assessment recorded an average proactive-disclosure score of 8.33 per cent.

Organisers said only Imo currently has a state-level FOI law, while Delta’s bill, passed in 2019, has not received assent. The baseline ranking placed Abia first with 35 points out of 100, followed by Delta and Imo with 30 points each. Cross River and Edo scored 15 points each, while Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ondo and Rivers recorded the lowest scores.

The assessment also said Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Delta had rejected information requests outright. Policy Alert Executive Director Tijah Bolton-Akpan said access to information was especially important because the region receives substantial public revenues while facing unemployment, environmental degradation, maternal mortality and low life expectancy. He cited allocations and revenues connected with the Niger Delta Development Commission, the 13 per cent derivation fund and Host Communities Development Trusts.

Participants called for stronger enforcement by state assemblies, fiscal-responsibility agencies and courts, as well as state FOI laws where absent. They also sought improved publication of budget and fiscal data and greater cooperation among civil society, media and public institutions. Policy Alert said the 2026 ranking would update the 2024 baseline and compare access to information across the region.