The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) has called on Nigeria’s federal and state governments to prioritise transparency by embracing open government partnerships and contracting processes.
Speaking in Abuja at the unveiling of the Transparency for Citizen Engagement Close-Out Report and the PPDC Strategic Framework (2024–2028), executive director and CEO Lucy Abagi urged governments to embrace accountability and citizen engagement.
Abagi stressed the need for proactive governance, particularly in procurement, and called for integrating open data portals to monitor public projects.
“We are calling on governments to drive the procurement process and open contracting and to make information available on their portals,” she said.
“Governments must also fund staff capacity building to manage these systems effectively.”
Citing widespread shortcomings in public infrastructure, she noted, “We do not have schools or hospitals we can be proud of. Our politicians fly their children abroad for education and medical care, while many communities lack access to clean water—even in cities like Abuja.”
Abagi emphasised that the Transparency for Citizens Engagement Project, funded by the MacArthur Foundation and implemented in Kaduna, Ekiti, and Adamawa states, has shown promising outcomes—especially in Kaduna and Ekiti, where citizen-friendly portals were developed.
“Citizens can now engage directly and access updates, but we are seeing a political drop-off, particularly in Kaduna, in utilising these platforms,” she added.
Reflecting on the challenges, Abagi highlighted the importance of government ownership. “This is not the responsibility of civil society alone. It is the government’s duty to inform citizens on how taxpayer money is spent.”
In her goodwill message, United Nations and ECOWAS country representative Beatrice Eyong, who was represented by Dr Chukwuemeka Onyimadu, lauded PPDC and its partners.
She stated that open procurement creates opportunities for women-led businesses and marginalised communities.
“Through the Open Contracting Data Standard and Open Government Partnership, Nigeria is making commendable progress towards inclusive governance,” Eyong remarked.
She said PPDC’s efforts have laid the groundwork for sustainable reforms by strengthening procurement systems, improving data transparency, and empowering civil society.
