Niger Delta States Leave 177 of 180 FOI Requests Unanswered

What changed

A new freedom-of-information assessment ranks Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ondo and Rivers among the Niger Delta’s poorest performers. Of 180 requests assessed, 177 reportedly went unanswered.

Why it matters

That is not a minor paperwork gap. It means requesters received answers to only three of the 180 FOI requests, leaving public information difficult to obtain across the assessed states.

The ranking turns a vague complaint about transparency into a stark measure of non-response. It also puts the focus on Niger Delta public authorities and the basic obligation to disclose information when citizens ask for it.

The assessment’s methodology, timing and reasons for the unanswered requests were not identified in the available account. Those details will matter in judging how widely the ranking applies, but the headline finding is already clear: public disclosure is failing at scale in these jurisdictions.