8 Out of 1,000: When Government Refuses to Answer, Who Holds It Accountable

By Blessing Iriaka 

If an organisation like BudgIT, whose work is centred on helping citizens understand and demand accountability in public spending, can struggle to obtain information from government institutions using Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act, what does that say about the ordinary citizen trying to get answers?

Are public institutions withholding information because there is something they do not want citizens to see? Or have we simply built a public system where responding to citizens is not treated with the seriousness it deserves?

I began thinking about these questions during a webinar I conducted in May 2025 as an Advocacy Officer at the Centre for Social Awareness, Advocacy and Ethics (CSAAE).

I brought together experts to discuss Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act and what it actually means for citizens.

One of the people I interviewed was Chimezie Ebosie, Imo State Officer of BudgIT.

What he told me was disturbing. According to Ebosie, BudgIT submitted 1,000 FOI requests to public institutions in 2024, but received only eight approvals.

For an organization whose work depends heavily on public records, that is more than an inconvenience. It raises a fundamental question about how seriously Nigeria takes citizens' right to know.

The law already gives citizens the right to ask, Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act was created to make public records and information more accessible and to promote transparency.

Section 4 requires a public institution receiving an FOI request to make the information available within seven days, subject to the exemptions provided by the law. If access is denied, the institution is expected to give written reasons and identify the relevant legal provision supporting the refusal.

In other words, an agency cannot simply decide to ignore a citizen.

Yet the experience shared by BudgIT suggests that access to information remains a significant challenge.

And that matters because you cannot hold government accountable for what citizens cannot see.

How much was budgeted?

How much was released?

What was purchased?

Who received the contract?

Was the project completed?

How many people benefited?

These are not necessarily questions that require citizens to be activists or journalists.

They are questions citizens should be able to ask about the institutions spending public money.

Transparency is not simply about publishing documents. It is about making information accessible enough for citizens to understand what government is doing with the resources entrusted to it.

BudgIT itself describes access to information as central to enabling citizens to demand accountability and says its work includes helping citizens understand public finance and monitor government spending.

But imagine a citizen trying to investigate a failed road project in his community.

He asks for the contract details.

He wants to know how much was budgeted.

He asks when the project was supposed to be completed.

Then nobody answers.

What happens next?

The citizens are left with rumors, assumptions, and suspicion. And that is how accountability begins to collapse. 

The Freedom of Information Act should not exist merely as legislation citizens quote when demanding information.

Public institutions need functioning FOI systems, designated officers who understand the law, proper record-keeping and consequences for unlawful non-compliance.