C' River Records, Archives Bill Scales Third Reading

By Missang AKPET

A bill to to establish the Cross River State Records and Archives Bureau has passed its third reading on the floor of the Cross River State House of Assembly.

The bill which was sponsored by the member representing Ikom 1 state constituency Hon. Samuel Neji Abang on the 15th of February 2014 seeks to establish the Archives Bureau in line with the provisions of the National Archives Act, CAP N6 NO.30 of 1992, particularly section 33 (1) which also provides for the establishment of State Archives by the Government.

The bill passed its second reading on the 21st of February 2024 where its general principles and merits were analyzed before commiting it to the committee on information, Communication and Technology for in-depth study.

The Committee engaged Critical Stakeholders, Civil Society groups and members of the public for inputs on the bill and after extensive deliberation during the public hearing, the House Committee concluded, that, the establishment of Cross River State Records and Archives Bureau, is a Laudable initiative that will bring about the upgrading of the obscured archival unit of the Ministry of Information to a modern standard for improved service delivery and enhance prompt and easy access to information and data.

The bill was however re-read on the floor of the house for the third time as the committee prayed the house to consider speedy passage of the bill.

The importance of the bill according to Honourable Samuel Neji Abang cannot be overemphasized as it houses essential activities of past government for archives and reference purposes.