A new report from the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) has highlighted widespread deficiencies in transparency and accountability across Nigerian government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). Out of 514 MDAs evaluated in the “Transparency and Integrity Index 2024,” only four received commendable scores, while 510 were rated poorly.
During the report’s presentation in Abuja, CeFTPI’s Executive Director, Umar Yakubu, explained that the MDAs were assessed based on several criteria, including anti-bribery policies, whistleblower mechanisms, conflict of interest policies, corruption control efforts, and citizen engagement. The objective of the report, Yakubu said, is to assess the openness of public institutions by analyzing the availability of key governance information.
The evaluation also considered factors like budget allocations, releases, implementation, revenue remittance, and Auditor General reports from the past eight years.
Several agencies scored particularly low, including prominent bodies like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). These agencies were among those scoring as low as 8 out of 100 in transparency and accountability. Others in this category included the National Hajj Commission, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The worst performers, scoring only 4 out of 100, included the National Assembly Service Commission, Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Ministry of Police Affairs, and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
On the positive side, only four agencies received high transparency scores: the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, Development Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) praised the collaborative efforts between BPSR and CeFTPI, noting the bureau’s focus on driving reforms in public institutions. He added that since the report’s inception in 2021, progress has been made, though much more effort is needed to improve public institutions’ transparency across the country. BPSR plans to intensify efforts to create broader awareness and encourage more institutions to adopt transparency measures.