Ahead of next year’s general elections, a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has called on presidential candidates to prioritise accountability in government processes.
The civil societies also urged the government at all levels and critical stakeholders to give priority to fiscal transparency.
The CSOs also urged the presidential candidates to declare their plans to strengthen anti-corruption agencies and address gender challenges.
They made the demands in a statement jointly issued by Accountability Lab Nigeria, Connected Development (CODE), SERAP, BudgIT, CJID, Paradigm Leadership Support Initiative (PLSI), Yiaga Africa, and Enough is Enough (EIE).
Addressing reporters yesterday in Abuja on behalf of the CSOs, Country Director, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Friday Odeh, the coalition of civil societies reiterated the need for Nigeria to work towards achieving inclusive governance.
The coalition decried the lack of public data on the declaration of assets of potential political candidates.
It noted that the lack of public data on the assets of potential political candidates provided an avenue for opacity and a lack of accountability, thereby fueling political corruption.
“The monetisation of politics was the main headline during the political parties’ primaries and has become a pointer to how vote-buying and selling will play a disruptive role in the 2023 general elections.
“This has also affected the value of the naira, as aspirants now deal in and distribute major international currencies, especially the dollar.
“Vote-buying has become a widespread practice, where democracy has struggled to be fully consolidated due to Nigeria’s entrenched corrupt political class, trapping citizens in self-sabotaging, subservient relationships with political leaders,” the statement said.