Chinedum Elekwachi
Center for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) has trained twenty-one persons in Anambra state on application of the freedom of Information (FOI) Act and hands on Hackathon as a tool for advocacy.
Programme/Communications Manager, MacDonald Ekemezie disclosed this on Thursday in Awka at a one-day training by the group in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Participants in the training included government officials, Civil Society Organizations, community leaders, media and other sectors.
It was supported by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (RoLAC) and funded by the European Union through International IDEA.
Ekemezie said the training was a follow-up to the previous trainings on the FOI targeted at developing skills and knowledge on how to deploy technology tools to access FOI easily.
“We’ve had FOI training explaining the essence of the act, access to the information as well as creating awareness.
“Today’s workshop is a build up to help citizens develop their skills on how to use certain tools to access FOI easily.
“One of those tools is the use of technology which today’s training on hackathon is all about.
“It’s also about how technology can be used as advocacy tool to access information and back up requests the citizen needs.
“This is the last training in the series. We’ve trained about 17 persons in North Central zone, FCT to be precise, and Edo respectively, and we’re in Anambra today.”
Utilize the knowledge garnered
While commending participants for making themselves available for the training, Ekemezie enjoined them to utilize the acquired knowledge and skills to further advocate for full implementation of the Act.
“Today we have about 21 participants and the message for them is to diligently tap into the skills and knowledge being impacted by maximizing it judiciously, especially at the grassroots.
“They should also help us to advocate for the full implementation of the FOI within the sub-national.”
A facilitator at the engagement, Obasegun Ayodele said the hackathon series was opportunity to help shape practical ideas and build shared ownership of the future of open governance in Nigeria.
“It was a reminder that with the right tools, space, and intent, we can all play a part in making public information more accessible and actionable for everyone,” he said.
Ayodele, Technology and Innovation Lead, Meluibe Foundation added, “One of the frameworks I introduced was a Train-the-Trainer Model designed for both self-paced and supervised learning.
“This approach not only supported participants during the sessions but also empowered them to take the knowledge forward into their communities and networks.
“A major part of the facilitation was focused on 5 Pillars for Technology Integration in FOI Implementation, namely: Accessibility and Open Data; Transparency and Accountability.
“Others are Efficiency and Automation; Citizen Engagement and Collaboration as well as Security and Data Privacy.
“Each pillar was unpacked using local examples and relatable cases where these principles have been successfully applied.
“This helped participants connect the pillars with real-world scenarios, especially within the Nigerian context.”
