The National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB) is listed among the most outstanding Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the 2021 National Freedom of Information (FOI) compliance ranking for public institutions.
In the 2021, ranking recently released by the FOI Vault, the board, regulator of the nation’s film industry, is standing at 20th position out of the 213 public institutions ranked during the period under review.
Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, the Chief Executive Officer of the board, made this known in a statement by Mr. Joshua Olomu, the Special Assistant on Media on Thursday.
Thomas said the ranking was conducted by a coalition of civil society organizations, Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Budgit, Right 2 Know (R2K), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) and Basic Right Watch (BRW).
He said that the National Freedom of Information ranking was based on the MDAs compliance to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act of 2011.
He said points were assigned to MDAs based on three main parameters; Proactive Disclosure, Level of Responsiveness to request for information and Level of Disclosure.
Thomas said that Proactive Disclosure Points were calculated based on the presence of relevant information on MDAs websites, while level of disclosure was determined by the number of days it took an institution to respond to information request.
He expressed delight that the development was an indication that his agency’s commitment to delivery on its mandate was being recognized.
He noted the unwavering support, trust and goodwill of the Minister of Information and Culture , Alhaji Lai Mohammed for NFVCB, the management was also instrumental to the successes it had so far recorded.
He also commended the FOI Desk officers at the board for their timely response to requests demanding for relevant information from the board.
“The latest ranking placing the board at 20th position out of 213, is a clear indication that we are on top of our game as an agency of the Federal Government, especially in compliance with government policies and programmes.
“We hope to do more by building on whatever we have done right that earned us this recognition, also deliver more prudently on our mandate of regulating the film and video industry.
“The NFVCB, under my watch is poised towards ensuring that the ease-of-doing-business mantra of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government is upheld and we have demonstrated this in our overall service delivery to stakeholders, especially filmmakers,” Thomas said. (NAN)
