The Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) has launched the Nigerian Local Government Integrity Index (NLGII), an inaugural framework for measuring accountability and corruption risks across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
The index was unveiled in Abuja on Friday, presenting an evidence-based national assessment of governance at the grassroots.
It evaluates local councils on eight weighted pillars, namely: fiscal transparency and accountability, fiscal resources and opportunity, anti-corruption enforcement, post-election governance and sustainability, civic oversight and media freedom, public service delivery, digital infrastructure and e-governance, and security and stability.
Sobering findings
The report paints a grim picture of governance at the local level. According to the findings, 85 per cent of LGAs fall into the “very high” or “critical” corruption risk categories, marked by weak transparency, poor service delivery, and near absence of accountability structures.
Only a handful of LGAs, such as Nasarawa in Nasarawa State, Ikeja in Lagos, and Dutse in Jigawa, emerged as relative benchmarks of integrity.
“This index shows the crisis of accountability at the grassroots,” said Oluchi Eze,
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