ICPC Recovers N5.3bn From Local Government Accounts In Seven States, FCT

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recovered more than N5.3 billion following an examination of local government accounts in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The commission also plans to compel all 774 local government councils in Nigeria to publish their financial records,……

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recovered more than N5.3 billion following an examination of local government accounts in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The commission also plans to compel all 774 local government councils in Nigeria to publish their financial records, budgets and activities online to strengthen transparency and accountability at the grassroots.

ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, according to The Guardian, disclosed this in Lafia, Nasarawa State, during the flag-off of the ICPC-National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Local Government Websites Pilot.

He said the initiative, which commenced in Nasarawa, would be extended to all local government areas across the country.

Aliyu explained that the recovery of the funds exposed the extent of financial irregularities at the grassroots and underscored the need for closer monitoring of public resources.

He said accountability had become more important following the Supreme Court judgment of July 2024, which affirmed financial autonomy for local governments and the direct payment of their statutory allocations.

“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, the websites will operate on a standardised template developed through the commission’s Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Governments.

The platforms will require councils to disclose their budgets, statutory allocations, internally generated revenue, expenditure, audit reports and outstanding debts.

Other information to be made available includes public procurement records, human resources, citizen engagement platforms, whistleblowing channels and anti-corruption measures.

According to the ICPC chairman, the initiative will enable residents to monitor how public funds are spent while providing journalists and oversight institutions with 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,” Aliyu stated.

He urged local government chairmen to designate officers responsible for managing the websites and ensuring that information published on the platforms 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 warned.

Aliyu stressed that the commission’s intervention was designed to prevent corruption and promote accountability rather than witch-hunt local government officials.

He added that the experience from the Nasarawa pilot scheme would guide the expansion of the initiative to other councils nationwide.

“Transparency is not an event. It is a habit that will lead to accountability,” he said.

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