Isiyaku Ahmed
The Kano State Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the Federal Government (FG), through the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) Secretariat, have called for stronger citizen participation and evidence-based monitoring of public services to promote transparency, accountability, and improved service delivery.
The call was made on Monday at a two-day capacity-building training for OGP Stakeholders and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on Community Scorecards and Citizen Monitoring Tools for Participatory Service Delivery Tracking held at Tahir Guest Palace, Kano.
The training was technically supported by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Program Phase II (RoLAC II), funded by the European Union and implemented by International IDEA.
Speaking at the event, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf on OGP and Accountability Policies, Musaddiq Kabir Adam, said community scorecards would enable citizens to assess public services, document challenges and provide evidence to government and service providers.
He said citizen monitoring should be viewed as a tool for identifying service gaps and improving government performance rather than as an attack on government.
“The real measure of open government is not simply whether government publishes information or produces policy documents.
“The real test is whether ordinary citizens can see, understand, participate in and influence what government does,” Adam said.
He urged participants to apply the tools acquired during the training in their communities and called for stronger collaboration between government and CSOs.
Also speaking, RoLAC II State Coordinator, Ibrahim Bello, described the initiative as an important pilot program for Kano, saying it would promote joint assessment of public services by CSOs, government agencies and service providers.
Bello said the tool went beyond conventional monitoring and evaluation by allowing stakeholders to collectively assess services and respond to findings.
“This is participatory, something that goes beyond just asking what works in terms of our monitoring and evaluation,” he said.
The Head of Kano State Anti-Corruption Strategy (KANSACS), Isa Mansur Bello, said the training was designed to equip stakeholders and community monitoring groups with practical tools to assess government services and promote accountability.
He stressed that citizens must have platforms to express concerns and ensure their complaints are addressed.
“If the citizens cannot be heard, if their voices cannot be heard, if their complaints cannot be addressed, it means we cannot improve the services being provided by the government to the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government commended Kano State for developing, approving and operationalizing its State Anti-Corruption Strategy.
The Director of Planning, Research and Statistics and Head of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) Secretariat, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Victoria Ojogbane, gave the commendation while representing the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
Ojogbane said Kano had developed an Action Plan, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, operating guidelines and reporting templates for its anti-corruption strategy.
She also commended the state for establishing the State Service Delivery Transparency Initiative (SSDTI) and introducing the Mystery Shopper mechanism to strengthen transparency and public service delivery.
“What you have achieved as a state is not symbolic progress, but a structural reform,” she said.
Ojogbane said effective implementation of anti-corruption reforms at the state level was critical to the success of the NACS and its 2022–2026 Action Plan.
She identified prevention, public engagement, ethical re-orientation, enforcement and sanctions, and recovery of proceeds of corruption as key pillars of the national strategy.
The federal official said corruption directly affected the quality of public services, including healthcare, education and water supply, and urged stakeholders to strengthen mechanisms that enable citizens to demand accountability.
“Every act of corruption diverts resources from the people who need them most.
“Therefore, every institutional reform that increases transparency, strengthens accountability, and empowers citizens to demand better services is an act of justice,” she said.
She appreciated the European Union and International IDEA for their support through RoLAC II.
Ojobgane urged OGP stakeholders and CSOs to use the training to strengthen accountability and ensure public resources reach their intended beneficiaries.
She then declared the capacity-building workshop open.
The workshop lead facilitator, Prof. Ada Chidi-Igbokwe, guided participants through the community scorecard process, providing practical insights into design, implementation, effective utilisation, and assessment of the quality, accessibility, and responsiveness of public service delivery.
She explained the various stages of the community scorecard process, including identifying priority services, developing appropriate indicators, gathering feedback from service users, analysing findings, and presenting the results to relevant stakeholders.
Participants were also taken through practical approaches for documenting citizens’ experiences and using evidence generated through the scorecard to identify gaps, challenges, and areas requiring improvement in public services.
Prof. Chidi-Igbokwe emphasised that the community scorecard should not be viewed merely as an assessment tool, but as a platform for constructive dialogue and collaboration between citizens, service providers, MDAs, and other relevant stakeholders.
Isa Mansur Bello, Head of KANSACS Secretariat, provided participants with a detailed overview of the SSDTI, highlighting its objectives, implementation framework and progress recorded so far.
He explained how the initiative is designed to strengthen transparency, accountability and efficiency in the delivery of public services by creating mechanisms through which citizens can monitor government services, identify gaps and provide feedback to relevant authorities.
Bello also outlined the key activities undertaken under the SSDTI, the roles of MDAs, CSOs, and citizens, as well as some of the challenges encountered and lessons learned.
