Access Nigeria (2013-2021)

Transparency and accountability are important characteristics for building legitimacy and restoring citizen trust in the government. In its third iteration, the Promoting Civil Society Participation in Anti-Corruption Efforts in Nigeria (Access Nigeria) educated citizens about the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Nigeria and deepened synergies and collaboration between civil society and government in the implementation of Nigeria’s OGP commitments. The project also supported the adoption and implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which seeks to close loopholes in Nigeria’s criminal justice system that have been exploited to circumvent the delivery of justice on issues of corruption.

Implemented by a consortium of partners including PartnersGlobal, Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN), BudgIT, the Public and Private Development Centre, the CLEEN Foundation, and U.S.-based New-Rule LLC., Access Nigeria operated at the federal and state levels. Thematic areas of focus included fiscal transparency, asset recovery, and freedom of information.

PartnersGlobal, New-Rule, and PWAN deployed scorecards to help citizens assess the level of corruption at the local government level and ascertain its impact on service delivery. Additionally, all three organizations implemented Partners’ Facilitating Accountability Integrity and Resiliency (FAIR) methodology in Nigeria at the local government level.

FAIR treats corruption as a symptom of an organization’s malfunctioning and treats people as capable, motivated actors knowledgeable of their organizations. FAIR involves the stakeholders who are part of the problem as important partners in creating long-term solutions. The process builds trust between public leaders, managers, and employees and ensures real commitment to the implementation of planned changes. Over time, we identify corruption vulnerabilities and work with our reform coalition to develop a good governance reform strategy.

Other aspects of the Access Nigeria project included the use of web-based tools, infographics, and data visualization to help citizens better understand government budgets, monitor public spending, and oversee procurement processes.

Learn more about this project here.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement