As Nigeria, like the rest of the world, prepares for the New Year—2025, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)/Transparency International in Nigeria expresses deep concern over the lingering socio-economic challenges that plagued the nation throughout 2024.
The organization calls on the current administration to implement rapid and holistic measures to address citizens’ plights and meet their expectations moving forward.
Throughout 2024, a series of macroeconomic decisions by the current administration negatively impacted Nigerians’ standard of living, financial capacity, and purchasing power. CISLAC/TI-Nigeria feels duty-bound to draw the government’s attention to several critical challenges that remain unresolved. These issues require urgent policy intervention in 2025 to ensure sustainable development.
Rising Cost of Governance
Amid widespread poverty and inequality exacerbated by harsh policies, Nigeria continues to grapple with an excessively high cost of governance. This has led to wasteful expenditures and unnecessary duplications, despite the recommendations of the Orosanye Report on cost reduction.
High governance costs have constrained resources that could be directed towards critical sectors capable of driving national development. Furthermore, troubling reports at the sub-national level reveal that many states are engaging in unproductive projects and ventures that fail to contribute meaningfully to economic growth.
Lingering Insecurity
The government must prioritize the security of lives and property in 2025 and beyond. This requires adopting international best practices in intelligence gathering, research, sabotage, espionage, and psychological operations. Enhanced inter-agency cooperation among defense and security agencies is essential to complement ongoing reforms and improve tactical implementation.
While CISLAC/TI-Nigeria welcomes the focus on national security reforms in the 2025 Appropriation Bill, the government must allocate adequate resources to the defense and security sectors to achieve meaningful results. Given the intensity of ongoing attacks, kidnappings, and other security threats, the administration must double its efforts to restore safety and stability, encourage investments, and reclaim unlivable communities.
Radical reforms are urgently needed, including implementing Early Warning/Early Response systems, sanctioning human rights abuses by security personnel, and reviewing recruitment and deployment processes. Enhanced remuneration for police and civil defense personnel is also critical for motivation and performance.
The Imperative of Constitutional Amendments, Political Party, Electoral, and Judicial Reforms
To safeguard Nigeria’s democratic progress and ensure sustainable governance, there is an urgent need for comprehensive constitutional amendments, political party reforms, and electoral system overhauls.
These reforms will address systemic flaws that perpetuate inefficiency, injustice, and political instability. Equally, judicial reform must take center stage to restore faith in the rule of law.
A judiciary that lacks focus and independence undermines the very foundation of democracy. By implementing these critical reforms, the government can strengthen institutions, foster accountability, and create a more inclusive and transparent political framework that reflects the aspirations of all Nigerians.
Strengthening the Financial Sector and Border Security
The growing issue of terrorism financing has placed Nigeria among the top ten countries most affected by terrorism, according to the 2024 Global Terrorism Index. Weak border security has allowed terrorists, small arms, and illicit funds to flow into the country unchecked. Reports indicate that 137 out of 261 borders in the North-East and North-West remain unguarded, further enabling terrorist activities.
To combat this, Nigeria must strengthen financial regulations and enhance the capacity of anti-corruption and regulatory agencies. The banking sector and other financial platforms must be closely monitored to curb terrorism financing, money laundering, and illicit financial flows.
Anti-Corruption Efforts
Transparency and accountability remain critical for democratic governance. However, 2024 saw attempts to undermine anti-corruption agencies through legal and political maneuvers. The Federal Government must reaffirm its commitment to the operational and financial independence of agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, and CCB.
In 2025, the government must fully implement anti-corruption laws such as the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, and Beneficial Ownership Registry to tackle corruption and remove Nigeria from international grey lists.
Local Government Autonomy
CISLAC/TI-Nigeria commends the 2024 Supreme Court judgment barring state governors from mismanaging funds meant for local governments. However, constitutional reforms are needed to ensure financial and administrative autonomy for local governments, enabling them to deliver grassroots development effectively.
Revamping the Economy
The Executive and Legislature must adopt a holistic economic blueprint to address Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges. Economic diversification through targeted public-private partnerships in agriculture and industry is crucial for sustainable growth.
