ICPC Recovers N5.3bn From LG Accounts
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission says it has recovered more than N5.3bn following a review of local government accounts in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The commission also plans to make all 774 local government councils in Nigeria publish their financial records and activities online as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability at the grassroots.
ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this on Thursday in Lafia, Nasarawa State, during the flag-off of the ICPC-National Information Technology Development Agency Local Government Websites Pilot.
The initiative, which began in Nasarawa State, is expected to be extended to all local government areas in the country.
Aliyu said the recovery of the funds highlighted the scale of financial irregularities at the grassroots and the need for closer monitoring of public resources.
He said the Supreme Court judgment of July 2024, which affirmed the financial autonomy of local governments and direct payment of their statutory allocations, had made accountability in the management of council funds more important.
“Autonomy brings responsibility. Funds that now flow directly to the councils must be spent openly and for the benefit of the people,” he said.
The ICPC chairman explained that the websites would operate on a standardised template developed under the commission’s Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Governments.
He said the platforms would require councils to publish information on their budgets, allocations, revenue, expenditure, audits and debts.
Other areas of disclosure would include public procurement, human resources, citizen engagement, whistleblowing channels and anti-corruption measures.
According to Aliyu, the platforms would allow residents to monitor public spending, while journalists and oversight institutions would have access to information needed to identify possible financial abuses.
“When these records are published regularly, citizens can follow the money, the media can ask informed questions and oversight institutions can detect risks early, before they become losses,” he said.
He urged local government chairmen to appoint dedicated officers to manage the websites and ensure that information published was accurate and regularly updated.
“A website is only as good as the information on it; one that is launched and then abandoned will only disappoint the people,” he added.
Aliyu said the commission’s involvement was intended to prevent corruption rather than witch-hunt council authorities, adding that lessons from the Nasarawa pilot would guide the nationwide rollout.
“Transparency is not an event. It is a habit that will lead to accountability,” he said.
In his goodwill message, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said the initiative would reduce the difficulties residents face in accessing information about government activities.
He illustrated the challenge with the example of a woman in a remote Nasarawa community who might have to travel more than 60 kilometres at her own expense to find out whether her local government had approved a community project or to lodge a complaint.
“We are in a digital age. Our people are online; therefore, government needs to be online to serve them better,” he said.
Abdullahi identified improved governance, citizen engagement and economic opportunities as the three major objectives of the initiative.
He said NITDA would provide technical standards, develop website templates and train citizens, while encouraging local governments to engage local technology experts to maintain the platforms.
The NITDA director-general also disclosed that the agency had pledged to register domain names, develop and host websites for all 774 local government areas for at least one year.
“Our ambition is not 774 websites. It is 774 digitally empowered local governments delivering better experience to millions of Nigerians,” he said.
Flagging off the initiative, Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, designated the Nasarawa State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency as the state’s technical lead for the project.
Sule directed local government councils to take responsibility for the accuracy of information published on their platforms and ensure that designated officers verified details before publication.
He said the credibility of the initiative would depend on the availability of current and useful information rather than the ceremony marking its launch.
The governor added that publishing council allocations would end excuses by local governments over delays in paying workers’ salaries on the grounds that their statutory funds had not been received.
He, however, challenged the ICPC and NITDA to extend the transparency initiative to state governments to enable citizens to track funds meant for local councils.
Sule offered Nasarawa State as the first to make such disclosures.
In his remarks, the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage Muhammad I (retd.), commended the ICPC, NITDA and the Nasarawa State Government for the initiative.
The Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Danladi Jatau, also pledged the legislature’s support, recalling that the Constitution empowered the Assembly to oversee local government finances.
The flag-off ceremony, held at the Government House Banquet Hall in Lafia, was themed, “Deepening Transparency and Accountability at the Grassroots through Digital Disclosure.”
It was followed by a technical session on the standardised website template for local government councils.
The initiative builds on the ICPC’s Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Governments, introduced following the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment of July 11, 2024, on local government financial autonomy.
The judgment, delivered in a suit filed by the Federal Government against the 36 state governments, directed that allocations due to democratically elected local government councils from the Federation Account should be paid directly to them rather than being controlled by state governments.
The apex court also declared unconstitutional the continued administration of local governments by unelected caretaker committees, stressing that councils must be governed by democratically elected officials.
Despite the ruling, concerns have persisted over the management of local government finances, transparency in the use of allocations and the ability of councils to deliver basic services.
Under its accountability programme, the ICPC began reviewing the books of local governments in seven states and the FCT to identify financial irregularities and strengthen safeguards against corruption.
The commission said the exercise had resulted in the recovery of billions of naira, prompting the introduction of digital disclosure platforms to give residents, journalists and oversight institutions access to council financial records.
