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The chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation,
Iyiola Omisore, has blamed journalists for the delay of the passage of
the Freedom of Information bill.

The former Osun State deputy governor, who featured
at the guest forum of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo
State council, on Monday, noted that supporters of the bill were not
ready to agree with the responsibilities that go with free access to
information.

According to him, the nation’s legislative arm could
not pass the bill after several months of its proposal because media
leaders were not ready to allow inclusion of clauses for penalties for
publishing inaccurate information and falsehood.

Freedom and responsibility

“We want freedom of information. To every freedom,
there must be responsibility. What we attached to it (FoI Bill) you
people do not want to take it. We invited the NUJ people to come and
speak with us that if you do this, this is your penalty.

“You are free to write anything, but if you write
what is not true, you go to jail. I was in detention for three years
for the lies published by Tempo magazine against me. And immediately I
was arrested, they folded up,” he said.

Speaking on states creation, Mr Omisore explained
that the National Assembly is still struggling to see how the feat
would be achieved before the current federal legislative term winds up.

He admitted that the death of the former president,
Umar Musa Yar’Adua, slowed down some of the work lined up by the
National Assembly for the current season.

He explained that the assembly had three items as paramount in its agenda and has already achieved two of them.

States creation

The three, he disclosed, are constitution amendment,
passage of electoral reform bill, and state creation, adding that among
the three, state creation is the only one left and its process has
reached an advanced stage.

On the issue of the jumbo pay the lawmakers allegedly
appropriated for themselves, the senator said the allegations were not
true, saying the constituency allowances are not given to them in cash,
but are appropriated in the budget and the projects for which they are
meant are handled by relevant government agencies.

Commenting on the adoption of President Goodluck
Jonathan by the southwest chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
last Saturday, Mr Omisore said the zone has not done anything against
the zoning formula entrenched in the party’s constitution.

As an aspirant in the Osun State governorship race,
Omisore admonished that all Nigerians must ensure that the next
election is free, fair, and credible, and he cautioned politicians from
playing the game against the rule.

He advised politicians to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship in the
next election, saying they must be ready to admit failure when it comes.