The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has recovered over N5.3bn from local government accounts in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory following a review of their finances.
The commission said it was also working with the National Information Technology Development Agency to ensure that all 774 local government areas publish their financial records and other relevant information online.
A statement on Thursday by the ICPC’s spokesman, John Odey, said the agency’s chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, disclosed this in Nasarawa State, during the kick-off of the ICPC-NITDA Local Government Websites Pilot.
Aliyu said the initiative, which began in Nasarawa, was designed to strengthen transparency and accountability at the grassroots through digital disclosure.
He said the recovery of over N5.3bn demonstrated the scale of financial risks at the local government level and the importance of scrutiny in preventing corruption.
“The ICPC has recovered over N5.3 billion from a review of local government accounts in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory, and is now moving to make councils across the country publish their finances online.
“The recoveries show both the scale of the risk at the grassroots and what scrutiny can achieve, and the websites are the preventive side of the same effort,” he said.
According to him, the Supreme Court’s July 2024 judgment affirming the financial autonomy of local government councils and direct payment of their statutory allocations has increased the need for accountability in the management of public funds.
“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 require councils to publish information on their budgets, allocations, revenue, expenditure, audits, debts, procurement processes, human resources and channels for citizen engagement and whistleblowing.
He said the platforms would enable residents, journalists and oversight institutions to monitor council finances and identify potential financial irregularities.
“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,” Aliyu added.
He said NITDA would provide the technological infrastructure, including domain registration, website development and hosting for at least one year, while the ICPC would provide the content standards and accountability framework.
Aliyu urged council chairmen to appoint dedicated officers to manage the platforms and ensure that information published was accurate and regularly updated.
He added that the commission would approach the initiative as a corruption prevention partnership rather than an instrument of witch-hunting.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said the initiative would improve governance, citizen engagement and economic opportunities.
He said the digital platforms would reduce the difficulties residents faced in accessing information about government projects and lodging complaints.
“Our people are online; therefore, government needs to be online to serve them better,” he said.
Abdullahi said the agency would establish standards, develop website templates and train citizens, adding that the initiative would eventually cover all 774 local government areas.
“Our ambition is not 774 websites. It is 774 digitally empowered local governments delivering better experience to millions of Nigerians,” he said.
The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, who performed the kick-off, designated the Nasarawa State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency as the state’s technical partner for the initiative.
Sule directed local government councils to ensure the accuracy of information published on their websites and assign officers to verify records before uploading them.
He said the success of the initiative would be measured by the accessibility, currency and usefulness of the information rather than the launch of the platforms.
The governor also urged the ICPC and NITDA to extend the transparency initiative to state governments, offering Nasarawa as the first state to participate.
He said such disclosures would enable citizens to determine where funds meant for local governments were being held up.
The Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage (retd.), and the Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Danladi Jatau, also commended the initiative.
Jatau pledged the Assembly’s support, noting that the Constitution empowered the legislature to oversee local government finances.
The kick-off was followed by a technical session on the standardised website template.
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