A two-day capacity building training for local government councils held in Adamawa state tackle the disconnect between public resources and public benefit at the grassroots level.
Organised by Spotlight for Transparency and Accountability Initiative (Spotlight NG) with support from the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF), the workshop moved beyond routine sessions to address why local governments, the closest tier to citizens remain the weakest link in service delivery.
Organisers said for communities in Northeast Nigeria still coping with conflict, displacement, and economic hardship, ineffective governance has real consequences which includes underfunded schools, poor health centres, and crumbling infrastructure.
Muazu Alhaji Modu, CEO of Spotlight NG, said the training was part of broader efforts to strengthen accountability and citizen engagement at the local level.
“Local government plays a critical role in delivering basic social services,” Modu stated.
A functional and accountable system is essential for meaningful improvements. This is why we are deliberately investing in transparency, accountability, and active citizen participation,” he said.
He said the workshop combined governance theory with practical tools, including financial transparency frameworks and civic technology like Bayani AI.
“This dual approach addressed both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of accountability moving beyond advocacy to build technical capacity while confronting institutional cultures that sustain opacity,” he said.
He said participants engaged candidly, openly interrogating financial discrepancies, reflecting on institutional weaknesses, and committing to measurable reforms; a shift from passive compliance to active ownership.
Civic technology can democratise oversight by simplifying access to public finance data.
However, organisers noted that technology alone is insufficient.
Its impact depends on institutions’ willingness to embrace transparency and citizens’ ability to meaningfully engage with data.
The training reaffirms a fundamental truth: meaningful national development requires functional local governance.
