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ICPC recovers more than ₦5.3 billion following a review of local government accounts in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.
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Anti-graft agency launches digital transparency initiative in Nasarawa, targeting all 774 local government areas.
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Councils to publish budgets, allocations, revenues, expenditures, audit reports, debts and procurement records online.
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Governor Sule demands financial disclosure by state governments, offering Nasarawa as the first state to publish information on funds received and held on behalf of councils.
November 13, (THEWILL) – The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recovered more than ₦5.3 billion following a review of local government accounts in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as the anti-graft agency moves to expose the financial activities of councils across the country.
The Commission is also introducing a digital transparency initiative that will require all 774 local government areas to publish their financial records, statutory allocations, expenditures, procurement activities and other administrative information online.
Chairman of the ICPC, Musa Aliyu (SAN), disclosed this on Thursday in Lafia, Nasarawa State, during the flag-off of the ICPC-National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Local Government Websites Pilot.
The initiative, which commenced in Nasarawa, is expected to be extended to all local government areas nationwide as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability in the management of public funds at the grassroots.
Aliyu said in a statement issued by the ICPC Head of Media and Public Communications, John Odey, that the recoveries from the review of local government accounts demonstrated the importance of monitoring public finances and ensuring that funds allocated to councils were properly utilised.
₦5.3bn Recovered From Council Accounts
The ICPC chairman said the Commission’s review of local government accounts in seven states and the FCT had resulted in the recovery of more than ₦5.3 billion.
He said the initiative to establish websites for councils was designed to complement the Commission’s enforcement activities by creating a system through which residents, journalists, civil society organisations and oversight institutions could monitor the management of public resources.
Aliyu linked the initiative to the Supreme Court judgment of July 2024, which affirmed the financial autonomy of local government councils and directed the direct payment of their statutory allocations.
He said the judgment had placed greater responsibility on council administrations to account for funds received directly from the Federation Account.
“Autonomy brings responsibility. Funds that now flow directly to the councils must be spent openly and for the benefit of the people,” he said.
Under the initiative, councils will operate websites based on a standardised template developed through the ICPC’s Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Governments (ACPP-LG).
The template will require councils to disclose information across five key areas, including financial records covering budgets, statutory allocations, internally generated revenue, expenditure, audit reports and outstanding debts.
Other disclosure requirements will cover open procurement, human resources, citizen engagement, including whistleblowing channels, and measures for controlling corruption.
Aliyu said the regular publication of such records would enable citizens to track public funds and identify questionable spending, while providing journalists and oversight institutions with information to demand accountability.
“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.
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NITDA to Develop, Host Websites For 774 Councils
The ICPC chairman said NITDA would provide the technological infrastructure for the initiative, while the anti-graft agency would establish the content standards and accountability framework.
He recalled that NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Abdullahi, had pledged during an earlier courtesy visit to the Commission that the agency would register domain names, develop the websites and host them for at least one year for all 774 local government areas.
Aliyu urged council chairmen to take ownership of the platforms by appointing dedicated officers to ensure that information published was accurate and regularly updated.
He warned that the initiative would not achieve its objectives if councils failed to maintain the websites after their launch.
“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.
The ICPC chairman assured councils that the Commission’s engagement with the platforms would be guided by its corruption prevention mandate rather than an intention to witch-hunt local government officials.
He said the lessons from the Nasarawa pilot would help the Commission refine the standardised template and implementation plan before extending the programme to the remaining states.
“Transparency is not an event. It is a habit that will lead to accountability,” Aliyu said.
In his goodwill message, Abdullahi said the initiative would reduce the difficulties residents encounter when seeking information about government projects and services.
Illustrating the challenges faced by people in remote communities, the NITDA chief described a situation in which a woman in a rural Nasarawa community 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, stronger citizen engagement and expanded economic opportunities as the three major objectives of the programme.
He said NITDA would establish technical standards, develop website templates and train citizens, while encouraging councils to engage local technology professionals to build and sustain the platforms.
He stressed that the initiative was intended to transform local government administration through digital access to public information.
“Our ambition is not 774 websites. It is 774 digitally empowered local governments delivering better experience to millions of Nigerians,” he said.
Sule Order’s Council to Disclose Allocations, Expenditure
Flagging off the pilot, Nasarawa State Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, introduced the Nasarawa State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency (NASITDEA) as the state’s technical champion for the implementation of the initiative.
The governor directed all local government councils in the state to take responsibility for the accuracy of information published on their websites and ensure that the platforms were regularly updated.
He instructed the councils to appoint responsible officers to verify information before publication, stressing that the credibility of the platforms would depend on the accuracy, relevance and currency of the records provided.
Sule also called on civil society organisations, the media and community institutions to use the websites to monitor government activities and hold public officials accountable.
He said the success of the initiative would not be measured by the launch of the websites but by whether residents could access the information, whether the records were current and whether the platforms were being used.
The governor further maintained that the disclosure of local government allocations as they were received would end excuses by council administrations that they could not pay workers’ salaries because funds had not arrived.
Sule, however, argued that the transparency initiative should extend beyond local government councils to include state governments, insisting that the disclosure of council finances would be incomplete without information on funds received and held by state governments on behalf of the third tier of government.
He offered Nasarawa State as the first state to make such disclosures, saying citizens should be able to establish where funds meant for local governments were being held up.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.