Leaking Confidential Memo Not Freedom Of Information, Says APC Spokesman

Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the spate of leaking confidential government documents cannot be excused on the basis of freedom of information.

Abdullahi was reacting to the memo written by Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of Service of the Federation, to Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President, explaining the series of events that led to the reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, which managed to find its way to the press.

Buhari had instructed Oyo-Ita to submit to Kyari a written explanation on why Maina, a wanted former Chairman of the Pensions Reform Task Team (PRTT), was reinstated into the nation’s civil service.

That memo, which was presented to Kyari on October 23, was leaked to the media — an action believed to be the cause of a heated argument between Oyo-Ita and Kyari before Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting.

Speaking on AIT’s Focus Nigeria on Thursday, Abdullahi said the development is bad for governance and for national security.

“There’s a reason confidentiality is an essential element of governance,” he said, “because government should also be allowed to make mistakes and correct those mistakes.

“But when every single mistake you make is in the open, then you find that government prioritises symbolism; the need to look good then takes precedence over the need to do the right thing.

“Because if you can make mistakes and correct those mistakes, then you can focus on what really matters. At the same time, we are not advocating for total opacity, but we are saying that there’s a need for balance.

“I think the trend of memo to the President or from the President getting out to the public domain cannot be excused on the basis of freedom of Information. I don’t think it is good for governance and I don’t think it is good for national security.”

Abdullahi said public officers must abide by their oath of office to protect government information, as total demystification of government weakens the institution.

“I was a Minister (of sports), and we swore to an oath to protect government information. It’s an oath that we took and we must remember this,” he said.

“I held the Quran in my hands and swore to that oath, my Christian colleagues held the Bible in their hands and swore to that oath. So if you feel you are no longer able to keep to the requirements or the demands or the boundaries set by the oath, I think the honourable thing to do is to go out and then pursue all those interests that you want to pursue.

“There’s a reason secrecy is an important element of governance, and as long as total demystification of government may suit initial interests, for whatever those interests are… but ultimately, the institution is weakened, the institution is destroyed. And the institution should be bigger than all of us.”

Contributing to the discussion, Femi Adesina, media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, said the frequency of leaks of confidential government documents in recent times should be a cause for worry.

“Naturally, it should worry one if you have that spate of leakages, but then, that is the trend in most parts of the world now,” Adesina said in an interview during AIT’s Focus Nigeria.

“There’s hardly any secret anywhere in the world now. Even in the most advanced democracies you see leakages everywhere.

“So I think we should learn lessons from it and know how to conduct ourselves and conduct government businesses.”

The Oyo-Ita/Kyari saga is coming few months after a memo written to Buhari by Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, alleging acts of insubordination and misconduct by Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, also mysteriously got leaked to the press.

Similarly, a letter written to Buhari by Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, was leaked to the media.

 

ICIR