The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has pledged to increase citizen engagement and ensure transparency in local government finances.
Speaking at the a stakeholders town hall meeting organized by Insight Initiative For Community And Social Development, the ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner (RACC), Hassan Mohammed said the commission will have a robust engagement with the citizens to be much aware about their local government finance s from Federal Government.
Mohammed stated that the commission is establishing a structured platform focused on monitoring local government allocation.
According to him, “We will enlighten the citizens to make sure that they follow their money. ICPC will try as much as possible to remove the opacity around the budget process within the local government and the administration of local government.
“ICPC will monitor the expenditures of local government more strenuously.
“The commission is creating a structured platform purposely to focus on the monitoring of local government finances going forward resulting from this supreme court judgment.” he added.
However, the leader of Osun Open Local Government Project and Executive Director, Insight Initiative For Community And Social Development, Jare Tiamiyu emphasized the importance of civic engagement in achieving effective leadership and development in Nigeria.
According to him, young people must hold their leaders accountable by asking pertinent questions about development, and accountability at the grassroots level.
He stressed that young people have a critical role to play in driving change and promoting good governance at the local level.
He said, “We want to spring what we call civic engagement, young people holding their leader for accountability. They should ask pertinent questions about the development, funding, the accountability at the grassroots so that we will be able to have effective leadership at the local government level. This we believe will translate into development at the state and at national level.
“I was born here and we know how the local government is work in the first 10 years of the fourth republic but in the recent time we realize that development has died in the local government level and that is why people call the attention of the state government for duties that constitutional under the local government. Calling attention of federal lawmaker by extension you are calling attention of federal government to come and sink of borehole, donate transformers and construct roads instead of approaching the council chairmen.
“We are trying to ask questions about what has happened and from there we want to look for way forward and look at the recent supreme Court judgement which came in when we are on this project, now that the the funds will be coming directly to the local government then we need to hold local government officials accountable.” he added.
