This essay is centred on Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act, with special interest in its relevance in the country's anti-corruption war. The paper reiterates that the law was passed to enable the public to access...This essay is centred on Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act, with special interest in its relevance in the country's anti-corruption war. The paper reiterates that the law was passed to enable the public to access certain government information, in order to ensure transparency and accountability. The FOI Act aims to make public records and information more freely available and to protect public records and information, in accordance with the public interest and protection of personal privacy. It enables citizens to hold the government accountable in the event of the misappropriation of public funds or failure to deliver public services. It also seeks to protect serving public officers against any adverse consequences from the unauthorized disclosure of certain kinds of official information, and to establish procedures for the achievement of these purposes. The Act further regulates conflicts between its provisions and those of other legislations. The paper contends that Freedom of Information is a fundamental indicator of economic development and progress, civic engagement and a properly functional democracy in every economy, describing it as a promising start in ensuring good governance and rule of law in Nigeria. The paper stresses the need for vigorous implementation of the FOI Act if the country is to make any significant breakthrough in the enthronement of good governance, transparency and accountability, adding that a strengthened FOI regime will enhance citizens' demand for accountability and check corruption in Nigeria.展开更多
Two lab-scale reactors, suspended-sludge and fluidized.bed, were conducted with the feed of ammonium-rich synthetic wastewater devoid of COD. Completely autotrophic nitrogen-removal process was fulfilled in both react...Two lab-scale reactors, suspended-sludge and fluidized.bed, were conducted with the feed of ammonium-rich synthetic wastewater devoid of COD. Completely autotrophic nitrogen-removal process was fulfilled in both reactors and the maximum efficiencies of nitrogen removal were achieved, 65% in the suspended-sludge reactor and 73% in the fluidized-bed reactor respectively. Different from the steady performance of the fluldized-bed reactor, the suspended-sludge reactor came to deteriorate constantly after a period of stable operation, resulting in almost complete loss of the N-removal ability in the suspending system. Molecular methods such as PCR and FISH were employed for describing the microbial characteristics in two systems. This study suggests that a biofllm system is a suitable configuration for completely autotrophic N-removal with more feasibility and stability than a suspending system.展开更多
文摘This essay is centred on Nigeria's Freedom of Information Act, with special interest in its relevance in the country's anti-corruption war. The paper reiterates that the law was passed to enable the public to access certain government information, in order to ensure transparency and accountability. The FOI Act aims to make public records and information more freely available and to protect public records and information, in accordance with the public interest and protection of personal privacy. It enables citizens to hold the government accountable in the event of the misappropriation of public funds or failure to deliver public services. It also seeks to protect serving public officers against any adverse consequences from the unauthorized disclosure of certain kinds of official information, and to establish procedures for the achievement of these purposes. The Act further regulates conflicts between its provisions and those of other legislations. The paper contends that Freedom of Information is a fundamental indicator of economic development and progress, civic engagement and a properly functional democracy in every economy, describing it as a promising start in ensuring good governance and rule of law in Nigeria. The paper stresses the need for vigorous implementation of the FOI Act if the country is to make any significant breakthrough in the enthronement of good governance, transparency and accountability, adding that a strengthened FOI regime will enhance citizens' demand for accountability and check corruption in Nigeria.
文摘Two lab-scale reactors, suspended-sludge and fluidized.bed, were conducted with the feed of ammonium-rich synthetic wastewater devoid of COD. Completely autotrophic nitrogen-removal process was fulfilled in both reactors and the maximum efficiencies of nitrogen removal were achieved, 65% in the suspended-sludge reactor and 73% in the fluidized-bed reactor respectively. Different from the steady performance of the fluldized-bed reactor, the suspended-sludge reactor came to deteriorate constantly after a period of stable operation, resulting in almost complete loss of the N-removal ability in the suspending system. Molecular methods such as PCR and FISH were employed for describing the microbial characteristics in two systems. This study suggests that a biofllm system is a suitable configuration for completely autotrophic N-removal with more feasibility and stability than a suspending system.