The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed it plans for chairmen of local government across the country following Supreme Court’s financial autonomy ruling.
According to the Punch, EFCC is set to step up its oversight of local government activities to promote good governance, accountability and transparency.
This follows a recent Supreme Court judgment that gave financial autonomy to local governments.
At a national dialogue in Abuja organized by Agora Policy tagged “Enthroning Accountability in Local Government in Nigeria,” a representative of the EFCC Chairman, Friday Ebelo, spoke on the importance of accountability, transparency and citizen participation in governance.
He said committed and development oriented people should be in charge of local government administrations.
The EFCC restated its commitment to monitoring local government activities, saying “We must make a conscious effort to bring governance to our people, so that citizens can feel governance in their daily lives, especially in areas of healthcare, education and infrastructure development.” The commission warned against the status quo and said it will now focus on holding local governments accountable for their actions.
Waziri Adio, founder of Agora Policy, said local governments are the “least trusted, least capacitated and least interesting to the public.” He quoted Afrobarometer’s 2008 survey which said only 28% of citizens trust local government administration, down from 58% in 2000. Adio called for awareness, engagement and accountability and advocated for mechanisms that will ensure vertical, horizontal and diagonal accountability.
Kole Shettima, Africa Director of MacArthur Foundation also spoke on local governance reform. He gave an example of a villager expecting President Buhari to fix a local water problem, showing how people still look up to the central government for local problems. Shettima commended Agora Policy Center for bringing policy discussions and acknowledged local governments’ efforts to involve citizens in decision making.
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