Center for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch (CFTIW) has called for a centralized portal and website in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to encourage transparency in governance.
The Executive Director of the centre, Umar Yakubu, made the call Thursday in Abuja at the presentation of the Transparency and Integrity Index Methodology Handbook for 2022.
Yakubu said introducing portal and website as a public domain in all government offices would promote transparency and accountability in the system.
He said the centre; a non- partisan organization was out to promote accountability, transparency, and integrity mechanisms within the public sector.
Yakubu added that as part of measures to promote accountability amongst public institutions in Nigeria, the centre on September 28, 2021, the United Nation International Day of Access to Information, presented the Transparency and Integrity Index (TII) 2021.
According to him, the Index being a pioneer project, is the first of its kind to cover a broad spectrum of issues regarding transparency, open governance and integrity of
institutions.
“The index used different variables and sub-variables to monitor and evaluate MDAs and other public institutions in compliance with relevant laws that ensures the strengthening of anti-corrupt practices.
“Given the impact of citizens’ access to timely and accurate information on strengthening democracy, with the 2021 Index, our research emphasized this by establishing the extent of government institutions’ disclosure of vital information through websites and portals.
“Following the presentation of the findings, our research indicates that most MDAs need to be further guided on the methodology and be given sufficient time for implementation before the commencement of the next evaluation.
“The methodology we are presenting today serves as a comprehensive guide for all MDAs on how to ensure adherence with relevant guiding principles which form the bedrock of the research.
“Like the previous year, we are drawing our 2022 evaluation from local and international guiding principles,” he said.
Yakubu said the guiding principles included the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, Public Procurement Act, 2007, the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
Others are Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007; Federal Character Principles; States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability, Framework and Guidelines for the Use of Social Media Platform in Public Institutions, 2019 and the Discriminations Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
He said that internally, the centre also adopted guiding principles such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, 2004; Open Government Partnership; African Union Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption, 2006 and Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and others.
According to Yakubu, it is worthy of note that the TII methodology has been fully evaluated and validated by the Professional Statistician Society of Nigeria (PSSN) and Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA).
He, therefore, assured about the credibility of the centre methodology and findings in ensuring transparency in governance, and urged all stakeholders to engage with the handbook to build capacities on method of assessment and evaluation.
He also called on the media to leverage their media tools for the continuous promotion of projects like the TII to strengthen accountability and transparency for good governance.
Head of Research for the centre, Mukhtar Abdulhameed, gave the rundown of the usefulness of the integrity index methodology handbook from chapter one to the last chapter.