The Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) Nigeria has called for urgent governance reforms across the public sector and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to support Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy ambition.

The institute made the call in a position paper obtained on Monday in Lagos.

Its director-general, Taiwo Nolas-Alausa, described governance lapses as a major threat to economic development, investor confidence and effective public service delivery.

He said corruption, procurement fraud, weak board oversight, fiscal opacity and a culture of impunity continued to undermine national development.

Mr Nolas-Alausa said governance reform should be treated as a national priority requiring immediate action by governments, legislatures and regulatory agencies.

According to him, Nigeria’s challenge is not the absence of governance laws but weak implementation and enforcement of existing frameworks.

He said in spite of legislation such as the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (2018), the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Public Procurement Act, the EFCC Act and the ICPC Act, governance deficiencies persisted.

Mr Nolas-Alausa identified politically influenced board appointments, procurement corruption, fiscal opacity, weak internal controls and ineffective enforcement as major governance failures.

He said many SOE boards lacked independence because appointments were not based on transparent merit.

He added that contract splitting, politically influenced procurement and weak contract management persisted in spite of existing procurement laws.

According to him, many SOEs also fail to publish audited financial statements within statutory timelines, limiting transparency and effective oversight.

He said internal audit and risk management units across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and SOEs remained under-resourced and insufficiently independent.

Mr Nolas-Alausa added that governance violations frequently went unpunished, weakening accountability across public institutions.

He said Nigeria ranked 142nd out of 182 countries, scoring 26 out of 100 in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.

He also cited the 2026 International Monetary Fund report on Budget Credibility in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to him, the report linked weak governance and oversight mechanisms to poor budget implementation.

Mr Nolas-Alausa described the proposed Nigerian Public Sector Governance Code as a critical opportunity to strengthen governance across MDAs and SOEs.

He urged the federal government to finalise and implement the code with mandatory compliance, enforceable sanctions and periodic governance assessments.

He also recommended transparent, merit-based appointments into SOE boards and comprehensive whistleblower protection legislation.

The CIoD director-general further advocated real-time public budget reporting and greater disclosure of government contracts.

He called for accelerated governance reforms in state-owned enterprises operating in infrastructure, energy, transportation and finance.

According to him, the reforms will improve efficiency and attract private investment into strategic sectors.

Mr Nolas-Alausa also recommended publication of audited annual reports within six months after each financial year.

He advocated stronger internal audit systems, continuous governance training and greater representation of independent non-executive directors on public sector boards.

He urged governance advocacy organisations to develop an annual Nigerian Public Sector Governance Scorecard for ministries and SOEs.

He also called for expanded director certification programmes with specialised public sector governance modules.

Mr Nolas-Alausa reaffirmed CIoD’s commitment to working with government, regulators, lawmakers, the private sector and civil society on governance reforms.

“Transparent institutions, accountable leadership and efficient public resource management are indispensable for achieving sustainable economic growth and Nigeria’s one trillion-dollar economy target,” he said. 

(NAN)