by Ben Ezemalu
In a response to the Institute of Human Rights
and Humanitarian Law, a Rivers State-based civil
society organization, the university said a request
for President Jonathan’s academic records did
not fall within the provisions of the FOI law. “The
Management of the University has carefully
considered your request vis-a-vis the FOI Act,”
the university stated in their letter dated 26th
February, 2015, and signed by Eric Loveday Osuo
Abonemi, the institution’s Legal Officer.
“It is my instructions to inform you that your
request does not come within the relevant
provisions of the FOI Act for its practicability or
for the University to provide such details as
requested.
“Details of the Ph.D Degree of President Goodluck
Jonathan in the University of Port Harcourt
cannot therefore be made available to you.”
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The Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian
Law had filed an FOI request, three weeks ago, to
the university seeking relevant details of Mr.
Jonathan’s doctorate qualifications.
The letter requested the following information
relating to the president’s doctorate qualification,
citing the provisions of Sections 2 and 4 of the
FOI Act, 2011:
1. The title of the president’s doctorate
dissertation
2. Year of registration as a doctorate candidate
3. Name of his doctorate supervisor(s)
4. Name of his external examiner(s)
5. Comments/reports of the external examiner of
the dissertation/thesis
6. Photocopy of the dissertation/thesis
7. Date of graduation from the university
The organization said it was willing to bear any
cost the university might incur in making
photocopies of the requested documents and for
posting them.
President Jonathan was admitted into the
Department of Zoology (now renamed Animal and
Environmental Biology), University of Port
Harcourt, in 1977, where he graduated with
Second Class Honours (Upper Division).
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In 1985, Mr. Jonathan obtained a Master of
Science degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries, and
a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Zoology 10 years
later.
Both degrees were also from the University of
Port Harcourt.
Lately, Mr. Jonathan’s academic qualifications
have come under increased scrutiny ahead of the
forthcoming general elections. Critics have
accused the president of failing to complete his
doctorate programme. In a response to an enquiry
by Punch Newspaper in January, the university
dismissed such claims as having “neither legs nor
grounds to stand on”.
The university had also told any person or
organization seeking additional information on Mr.
Jonathan’s qualifications to contact the school
authorities.
“We have absolutely nothing to hide as an
institution that has a statutory mandate to
advance the frontiers of knowledge,” William
Wodi, the university’s Deputy Registrar
(Information), had told the newspaper.
It is unclear why the university declined to release
Mr. Jonathan’s academic qualifications to the
civil society organization after giving that
commitment.
Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos-based lawyer, said the
president’s academic records ought to be freely
available in the university and not be “opaque or
hidden”.
“The FOI is applicable to the academic records of
a public officer whose academic records are being
requested by a Nigerian citizen or a
nongovernmental organization duly registered in
Nigeria with a view to promoting accountability
and transparency in government,” Mr. Ogunye
said.
“The academic records of the president are not
the medical records of the president in which
case a medical officer can say the FOI is
exempted, or the records between a lawyer and
his client which are covered by the confidentiality
rule.”
WHAT THE FOI ACT SAYS
According to Section 14(1) of the FOI ACT,
subject to subsection (2), a public institution
must deny an application for information that
contains personal information and information
exempted under this subsection includes:
(a) files and personal information maintained with
respect to clients, patients, residents, students, or
other individuals receiving social, medical,
educational, vocation, financial, supervisory or
custodial care or services directly or indirectly
from public institutions;…
(2) A public institution shall disclose any
information that contains personal information if
–
(a) the individual to whom it relates consents to
the disclosure; or
(b) the information is publicly available
(3) Where disclosure of any information referred
to in this section would be in the public interest,
and if the public interest in the disclosure of such
information clearly outweighs the protection of
the privacy of the individual to whom such
information relates, the public institution to whom
request for disclosure is made shall disclose such
information subject to Section 14(2) of this Act.
Mr. Ogunye said that an institution might attempt
to hide under Section 14(1)(a) to decline
disclosure of information.
“My argument is, this information is publicly
available and ought to be disclosed. The
president has said he obtained his Ph.D in that
institution, so it’s publicly available,” Mr. Ogunye
said.
“So why will an institution refuse to disclose an
information that is publicly available? The
university has acted wrongly and can be
compelled by the suit of the non-governmental
organization concerned to disclose the
information.”





http://newsrescue.com/uniport-confirms-jonathan-a-fake-doc-has-no-phd/#axzz3UrE9G5A5

No vex if I occupy ur space, I just wan dey here..

Hmmmm


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Uniport is ashame of. Dia. Own product

goats!how will you feel if someone were to dig up your personal files? you think say uniport STAFF dull like that principal wey hurriedly root out the private credential of buhari?

kestolove95:
Uniport is ashame of. Dia. Own product

Freedom of Information has limits!! how dare you request for the credentials of an acting President?

uniport STAFF are intelligent people sha.
they are proud of their product, not ashamed.

shadowgwalker:
goats!how will you feel if someone were to dig up your personal files? you think say uniport STAFF dull like that principal wey hurriedly root out the private credential of buhari?

What do you know?

OrlandoOwoh:

What do you know?

I know who you fyiokt last! ewù!

i am not a lawyer but each time i read matters bordering on legality, i take time out to do a little research, after all, the internet has made life and research easy. my only worry is that most of us are losing our ability for rational reasoning under the guise of supporting APC or PDP. So this is my take on the Uniport action in relation to the FOI Act:
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is an Act to make public records and information more freely available, provide for public access to public records and information, protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy, protect serving public officers from adverse consequences of disclosing certain kinds of official information without authorization and establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes.
Section 17. of the Act states that “a public institution may deny an application for information which contains course or research materials prepared by faculty members”. Furthermore, section 19. (1) states that “a public institution may deny an application for information that contains information pertaining to –
(a) test questions, scoring keys and other examination data used to administer an academic examination or determine the qualifications of an application for a license or employment;
Also, according to Section 26, this Act does not apply to-
(a) published material or material available for purchase by the public;
(b) library or museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for public reference or exhibition purposes; or
(c) material placed in the National Library, National Museum or non- public section of the National Archives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on behalf of any person or organization other than a government or public institution.

source:
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Freedom%20Of%20Information%20Act.pdf

feel free to dowload and go through it. lets educate ourselves.

shadowgwalker:
I know who you fyiokt last! ewù!

Rubbish!

OrlandoOwoh:

Rubbish!

same to you!