Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says policymaking and implementation have long been identified as twin challenges undermining Nigeria’s development.
Olukoyede spoke in Abuja on Thursday at Agora Policy’s
graduation ceremony for fellows of the second cohort of its policy writing
fellowship and the unveiling of the local governance accountability (LGA)
portal and the policy registry.
The EFCC chairman, who was the special guest, was
represented by Wilson Uwujaren, the commission’s commander and director of
public affairs.
Olukoyede hailed Agora Policy for addressing the gaps in
policymaking and implementation through human capital development and research.
He also commended the organisation for setting up a local
governance accountability portal and policy registry.
“As the chairman of an agency dedicated to promoting
transparency and public accountability, I am impressed by the investment of
Agora Policy in strengthening transparency and accountability at the third tier
of government, the local government, with the launch today of the local
governance accountability portal,” he said.
“The initiative, for me, is a game-changer, as it promises
to lift the veil of opacity that forecloses scrutiny of public expenditures at
this tier of government.
“For decades, releases to local governments from the
federation account, management of internally generated revenues and
expenditures by the councils have been under a mighty cloak of secrecy.
“And, where records are inaccessible, where citizens cannot
interrogate what was received against what was spent, and where elected and
appointed officials operate without the discipline of public scrutiny,
accountability takes flight. All that is about to change with the portal being
unveiled today.”
The portal provides free access to financial allocations to
LGAs from 1999 to date, alongside the profiles of the councils and the names of
their elected officials.
Olukoyede said “the platform does something that legislation
alone has struggled to achieve”, not that “it puts information in the hands of
citizens”.
“Common wisdom indicates that information in the right hands
is the beginning of accountability,” he added.
“As we have seen, in countries that made sub-national fiscal
transparency a priority, the combination of open data platforms and an informed
citizenry creates a culture in which public officials are held accountable for
the management of public resources and citizens actively participate in
governance processes.”
The EFCC chairman said the policy registry will aid
policymakers, researchers, journalists, and citizens to access a consolidated
repository of Nigeria’s policy documents so they can be better equipped to hold
the government accountable.
The LGA portal was developed by Agora Policy in partnership
with TheCable, the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CFTPI),
and the Punch Media Foundation.
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