Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, has called for a recalibration of anti-corruption frameworks at state and local government levels to close governance loopholes exploited through weak oversight structures.
Speaking at the thematic session titled “Building Anti-Corruption Frameworks for Sub-national Governance” during the 11th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), held on 17 December 2025 and organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Doha, Dr Aliyu stressed that corruption must be confronted where public resources and service delivery intersect most directly with citizens.
Dr Aliyu argued that tackling corruption solely at the federal level risks “allowing systemic leakages to thrive where institutional safeguards and public scrutiny are weakest”. Citing the fact that Nigeria has 774 local government areas, he noted that the ICPC does not possess the manpower to maintain presence in all LGAs, hence the commission’s increased emphasis on preventive strategies, including corruption risk assessments.
He referenced the eight pillars of assessment developed by the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity as a useful tool for strengthening governance mechanisms.
The ICPC boss further emphasised the need for citizen engagement at the grassroots, explaining that this informed the creation of the Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme in Local Government Areas (ACPP-LG), launched in April 2025. The initiative is designed to proactively tackle corruption and related offences at the local government level by empowering communities, deepening transparency, and strengthening feedback mechanisms.
He urged state governments to institutionalise transparency frameworks, strengthen public financial management controls, and align procurement systems with global accountability standards; calling for stronger collaboration among public institutions, oversight agencies, and civil society in the collective fight against corruption.
The Chairman highlighted Nigeria’s vulnerability to revenue leakages and compromised project implementation arising from opaque budgeting, inflated contracts, payroll fraud involving ghost workers, and weak audit processes at sub-national levels.
To achieve sustainable development and reduce poverty, he maintained that anti-corruption compliance must be embedded within the administrative culture of states and local governments.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria further underscored the role of technology in promoting transparent governance, advocating for digital procurement tools, automated auditing mechanisms, and integrated service delivery platforms to reduce human discretion and opportunities for manipulation.
The session, attended by delegates from UN member states, anti-corruption agencies, and governance experts, examined models for strengthening institutional safeguards at decentralised tiers of government as part of global efforts to implement UNCAC obligations.
The 11th UNCAC Conference continues in Doha with deliberations focused on corruption prevention, asset recovery, international cooperation, and institutional strengthening to improve accountability across all levels of public administration.
