The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Aliyu, has stated that the appointment and election of incompetent individuals to leadership positions in Nigeria’s local government councils are significantly undermining governance and fueling corruption at the grassroots level.
Speaking at a one-day dialogue on local government autonomy organized by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Abuja, Aliyu highlighted how the systemic weaknesses in local administration stem largely from poor leadership choices.
Aliyu also pointed to flawed electoral processes as a compounding factor. ‘Often, electoral processes are inadequately prepared to deliver free, fair, and credible elections. These challenges have significantly undermined efficiency and created opportunities for corrupt practices to flourish in local administration’, he explained.
He opined that ‘from the ICPC’s perspective, these governance failures have translated into financial abuses. ‘We have observed instances where funds have been misused under the guise of preparing for local government elections. In one such case, substantial sums were illicitly moved, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability)?
The anti corruption chairman maintained that ‘To address these challenges, the ICPC has partnered with the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity to launch the Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Governments (ACCP-LG).
‘This initiative targets corruption through five key areas: fiscal transparency, human resources, open procurement, citizen engagement, and corruption control.
ICPC Chairman urged stakeholders to respect the recent Supreme Court ruling affirming local government autonomy, warning against attempts to undermine the decision through frivolous legal challenges. He appealed to legal professionals to uphold the judiciary’s authority and avoid complicity in efforts to weaken local governance.
In his address the Executive Director of Civil Society legislative and advocacy Centre ( CISLAC,) Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, said the joint state-local government accounts (JAAC) increasingly serve as channels for the misappropriation of public funds, thereby eroding the independence and effectiveness of local administrations.
According to Auwal Rafsanjani, the misuse of JAAC accounts has often served as a conduit for siphoning public funds. Without transparency in this area, the notion of autonomy remains merely symbolic.
CISLAC Executive Director called for urgent and holistic reforms to address these systemic issues. He urged for legal reforms that clearly guarantee political, administrative, and fiscal autonomy for local governments, institutional reforms to ensure transparent budgeting and procurement processes, and electoral reforms that guarantee credible, interference-free local elections.
Comrade Ibrahim Rafsanjani stressed that the dialogue was not merely about constitutional guarantees but about restoring trust and improving service delivery at the grassroots level.
‘No tier of government is closer to the people than the local government. When it fails, the entire governance system loses legitimacy’, he said.
