The Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) has launched a new initiative designed to detect and reduce corruption risks in Nigeria’s public sector, with its inaugural review exposing entrenched graft and mismanagement in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The initiative, known as the Transparency and Corruption Risk Assessment (TACRA), provides a data-driven framework to systematically identify, assess, and address vulnerabilities across ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
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Speaking at the launch, CeFTPI’s Executive Director, Umar Yakubu, said the tool represents “a significant stride in strengthening governance, promoting public sector accountability, and combating corruption.”
“Transparency is the bedrock of integrity, and integrity is the foundation of a secure and prosperous Nigeria. Through TACRA, we are not just diagnosing risks; we are providing the evidence and tools to help leaders, civil society, and citizens build resilient institutions that truly serve the people,” Mr Yakubu said.
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How TACRA works
According to CeFTPI, TACRA reviews MDAs sequentially, offering in-depth analyses of systemic weaknesses using advanced technology and international benchmarks, including the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). Its methodology focuses on three core areas.
First, the tool maps corruption hotspots in budgeting, procurement, and service delivery, identifying where leakages and abuses are most likely to occur.
It promotes preventive reforms by recommending stronger internal controls, improved whistleblower protections, and enhanced institutional responsiveness.
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TACRA also empowers citizens and oversight bodies by making its reports publicly accessible, enabling policy reforms, advocacy, and judicial interventions to be guided by evidence.
The first assessment, TACRA 001, focused on the NDDC, an agency created in 2000 to drive development in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta.
The findings reveal persistent opacity, widespread corruption risks, and failures that have undermined the commission’s mandate for more than two decades.
Findings on NDDC
The report paints a damning picture of an agency riddled with irregularities across its operations. It notes that the NDDC consistently fails to publish detailed budgets and financial statements, a pattern that civil society group BudgIT has flagged for years, citing padded allocations, omitted expenditures, and unaccounted spending.
In addition, the agency has a poor record of compliance with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (2011), as it routinely ignores requests for information, thereby shielding its operations from scrutiny and ranking poorly in national FOI assessments.
“This secrecy not only violates statutory obligations but also shields potential mismanagement from scrutiny, perpetuating a cycle of distrust,” CeFTPI said.
The report also highlights procurement failures. A forensic audit conducted between 2019 and 2021, commissioned by the presidency, uncovered more than 13,000 abandoned or undocumented projects, many of which were awarded without competitive bidding or proper documentation.
CeFTPI’s own AI-driven analysis of procurement records classified most of the commission’s contracts as “high risk.”
Furthermore, the NDDC has been the subject of repeated corruption probes, the report said. “Both the EFCC and ICPC have interrogated senior NDDC officials over allegations of contract fraud and misappropriation, yet the commission continues to operate without systemic reforms.”
According to CeFTPI, despite receiving trillions of naira since its inception, about 60 per cent of NDDC projects remain incomplete or abandoned, particularly in Bayelsa, Rivers, and Delta states. As a result, many communities still lack access to clean water, healthcare, and basic road infrastructure.
One example cited is a N500 million water project in Bayelsa, launched in 2018, which remains uncompleted. The centre said funds earmarked for the project were allegedly diverted to “ghost contractors.”
Recommendations
To salvage the NDDC’s mandate and restore public trust, CeFTPI called for urgent reforms. It recommended that the commission be compelled to publish its budgets and financial statements on a dedicated public portal. It also urged the establishment of a functional FOI desk that would respond to requests within statutory timelines.
The report further advised the adoption of a transparent e-procurement system to reduce fraud in contract awards, alongside real-time audits and enforcement of sanctions by the Auditor-General, EFCC, and ICPC.
It also stressed the need for community-driven project selection to ensure development initiatives reflect local priorities.
In addition, CeFTPI called for the prosecution of offenders and recovery of misappropriated funds, while recommending regular training for staff on transparency and accountability standards.
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The centre further proposed a comprehensive audit of abandoned projects and prosecution of companies implicated in contract failures.
A symbol of failed governance
The report concludes that the NDDC has become “a symbol of mismanagement and corruption” rather than a driver of regional development.
Scoring 77 out of 100 on corruption risk indicators, the commission ranks low in transparency and accountability. “Evidence of reckless spending—N81 billion in irregular expenditures and N40 billion in questionable disbursements—has further eroded public confidence.”
“Without urgent reforms, the NDDC will continue to fail the people of the Niger Delta,” CeFTPI warned.
Call to action
CeFTPI urged policymakers, civil society groups, and development partners to push for systemic change.
“Failure to act risks further entrenching corruption and depriving the region of its rightful progress,” the report said, adding that TACRA would expand to other MDAs in the coming phases.
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