The Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) has launched the Nigerian Local Government Integrity Index (NLGII); a pioneering framework designed to evaluate transparency, fiscal transparency, and service delivery across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas (LGAs).
The launch, held on October 3, 2025, at the Board Room Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, marks a significant step in the Center’s ongoing mission to strengthen public sector accountability and advance integrity at the grassroots level. The event brought together representatives from oversight institutions, anti-corruption agencies, state governments, civil society organizations, and the media.
The Center’s Program Manager, Oluchi Eze underscored the urgent need for transparency and accountability in local governance in the opening remarks.
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, led the commission’s delegation at the event, commending the Index and reaffirming ICPC’s commitment to enhancing local government frameworks.
A Framework for Accountability
The NLGII is part of CeFTPI’s broader effort to expand transparency assessment beyond federal institutions to the local governance tier, where the impact of public finance and service delivery is most directly felt by citizens.
Developed through research, stakeholder consultation, and institutional benchmarking, the Index provides an evidence-based assessment tool for measuring how local governments uphold transparency standards, manage public resources, and deliver essential services.
In his presentation at the launch, Dr. Umar Yakubu, Executive Director of the Center, underscored the importance of strengthening governance at the local level, noting that sustainable development begins at the grassroots, where citizens interact daily with government systems that must be transparent, accountable, and responsive. He also emphasized that the July 2024 Supreme Court judgment affirming financial independence for LGAs presents a historic opportunity to address decades of dysfunction and improve governance at the grassroots level.
Participants commended the initiative as a timely intervention for deepening Nigeria’s decentralization and transparency agenda. They emphasized that the Index provides a verifiable benchmark for reform, performance monitoring, and citizen advocacy.
The Center’s Executive Director called for collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure that the NLGII becomes an annual national reference point for assessing local governance integrity.
Structure of the Index
The NLGII evaluates LGAs through data collected from Desk Research, FOI Requests, Third party and Expert Survey across eight pillars, with each metric normalized into a standardized scale. A score of 100% representing the highest possible risk and a weighted aggregation risk score.
1. Fiscal Transparency and Accountability: Quality of financial reporting and disclosure = 25%.
2. Fiscal Resources: Management of internally generated revenue and federal allocations = 20%.
3. Anti-Corruption Enforcement: Institutional capacity to prevent and address corruption = 15%.
4. Post-Election Governance and Sustainability: Continuity and administrative stability after political transitions = 15%.
5. Civic Oversight and Media Freedom: Openness to scrutiny and citizen engagement = 10%.
6. Public Service Delivery Outcomes: Efficiency and responsiveness in delivering basic social services = 10%.
7. Digital Infrastructure and e-Governance: Deployment of technology for transparency and access to information = 3%.
8. Security and Stability: Maintaining peace, safety, and enabling conditions for governance and development = 2%.
These three phases combine to produce a composite integrity score for each LGA, allowing for comparative analysis and reform prioritization across the federation.
The index also includes Risk Ranking tiers where LGAs are classified into five risk tiers. They include:
1. Tier 5: Critical Risk, 80-100 score
2. Tier 4: Very High Risk, 60-79 score
3. Tier 3: High Risk, 40-59 score
4. Tier 2: Moderate Risk, 20-39 score
5. Tier 1: Low Relative Risk, 0-19 score
Key Findings and Insights
The 2025 baseline assessment revealed a wide disparity in performance among LGAs, with only a few local governments in states like Nassarawa are demonstrating consistent progress in financial disclosure, citizen engagement, and public service transparency.
155 number of LGAs comprising of 20% of the 774 LGAs are in Tier 5, the critical risk level; 503 = 65% in Very High Risk level, 93 = 12% in High Risk, 19 = 2.5% in Moderate Risk and 0.5% in Low Relative Risk.
The description of the challenges a significant number of LGAs face includes:
1. Profound opacity, high funds, no enforcement, operating in high security environments and broken services.
2. The National norm. Characterized by a lack of transparency and impunity with new elected governments at high risks of being subverted by old corrupt networks or state interference.
3. Demonstrates minimal compliance in some areas but overall compliance remains weak. Elected but vulnerable to pressure.
These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions to improve governance outcomes at the local level and to ensure that fiscal autonomy translates into real accountability.
Recommendations
Following the Index launch, CeFTPI outlined a series of recommendations to strengthen local governance systems nationwide:
1. Institutionalize Transparency Mechanisms: Ensure regular publication of financial statements, budgets, and project updates by all LGAs.
2. Strengthen Oversight Systems: Enhance monitoring by state assemblies, auditors-general, and anti-corruption bodies.
3. Build Capacity: Train local officials in financial reporting, procurement management, and digital governance.
4. Encourage Citizen Participation: Establish community feedback platforms and participatory budgeting forums.
5. Conduct Annual Assessments: Use the NLGII results to track improvement, identify best practices, and sustain accountability momentum.
Conclusion
The Nigerian Local Government Integrity Index (NLGII) is more than a transparency metric; it is a governance reform tool designed to elevate integrity, responsiveness, and efficiency at the local level. The Supreme Court’s ruling has created an opportunity but without urgent targeted and sustained action, the cycle of impunity will continue. This Index should be an annual tool for measuring progress and holding all stakeholders accountable.
Through this initiative, the Center reaffirms its vision of a Nigeria where transparency is not merely demanded but demonstrated at every level of government.
Images from the Launch of The Nigerian Local Government Integrity Index (NLGII)