The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recovered more than N5.3bn from local government accounts in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory following a review of council finances.
The commission also announced plans to compel all 774 local government councils in Nigeria to publish their budgets, allocations, revenues, expenditures and other financial records online to strengthen transparency and curb corruption.
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.
Aliyu said the recovery exposed the scale of financial irregularities at the grassroots and underscored the need for stricter monitoring of public funds, particularly following the Supreme Court’s July 2024 judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments.
“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 initiative, which commenced in Nasarawa State, is expected to be extended to all local government areas nationwide.
The ICPC chairman explained that the websites would operate using a standardised template developed under the commission’s Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Governments.
According to him, the platforms will require councils to disclose information on budgets, statutory allocations, internally generated revenue, expenditures, audit reports, debts, public procurement, human resources and anti-corruption measures.
He said the websites would also provide channels for citizen engagement and whistleblowing, enabling residents to monitor public spending and report suspected financial abuses.
Aliyu added that the digital platforms would give journalists and oversight institutions access to information needed to identify potential corruption risks before public funds were lost.
He urged local government chairmen to appoint dedicated officers to manage the websites and ensure that published information 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 said.
Aliyu stressed that the commission’s involvement was aimed at preventing corruption rather than witch-hunting local government authorities, adding that lessons from the Nasarawa pilot would guide the nationwide rollout.
In his goodwill message, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said the initiative would ease residents’ access to information about government activities.
He noted that citizens in remote communities often incur significant transportation costs to obtain information about projects or lodge complaints with local authorities.
“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 major objectives of the initiative.
He said NITDA would provide technical standards, develop website templates and train citizens, while encouraging councils 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 ensure the accuracy of information published on their websites, stressing that designated officers must verify details before disclosure.
He said the success of the initiative would depend on the availability of current and useful information rather than the ceremony marking its launch.
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The governor also argued that publishing council allocations would address excuses by local governments over delays in paying workers’ salaries on the grounds that statutory funds had not been received.
However, Sule challenged the ICPC and NITDA to extend the transparency initiative to state governments, allowing citizens to track funds allocated to local councils.
He offered Nasarawa State as the first to make such disclosures.
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, noting that the Constitution empowered the Assembly to oversee local government finances.
The initiative builds on the ICPC’s accountability programme introduced following the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment of July 11, 2024, which directed that allocations due to democratically elected local government councils from the Federation Account be paid directly to them.
The apex court also declared unconstitutional the administration of local governments by unelected caretaker committees, insisting 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 capacity of councils to deliver basic services.
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