New awards scheme targets grassroots governance accountability
A governance group has unveiled the Steward Awards, a new initiative designed to assess and recognise the performance of local government administrations and promote accountability at the grassroots level. The
A governance group has unveiled the Steward Awards, a new initiative designed to assess and recognise the performance of local government administrations and promote accountability at the grassroots level.
The organisers announced in Lagos over the weekend that the maiden ceremony will take place on December 5, with plans to expand the programme beyond Lagos state and the country in a few years.
They said the initiative followed increasing financial autonomy for local councils and the need to ensure funds translated into measurable development.
Bolaji Fesomade, Head of the Media Department, described the awards as an independent, non-partisan governance assessment system that relies on verified data, adding that they would be free of charge for local governments.
He said the framework was introduced to track how councils deploy resources and ensure transparency in project execution at the community level.
Programme Director, Godfrey Egbuokporo, explained that the evaluation process would combine technology with field verification of projects implemented by local governments and states at the grassroots, adding that documented evidence from projects and community-based validation would form the basis of the assessment.
He said the initiative would feature a policy forum on governance and citizen engagement ahead of the award presentations, while independent auditors and a jury would review and certify results before publication.
Egbuokporo said the project would adopt a three-funding approach, including grants from global development support agencies, sponsorship from multinationals and corporates, and donations from founders and members of the board or jury.
He emphasised that donors would be informed they have no influence over who becomes the winner to maintain the credibility and integrity of the awards.
The assessment structure, he said, would include an advisory board, verification teams and an independent jury to validate claims submitted by participating councils.
Members of the Board of Trustees include former Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Leye Oyebade (rtd); media scholar, Alabi Williams; public affairs expert, Yakub Oshifuye; and businessman, Cosmas Maduka.
Egbuokporo added that the group intends to aggregate local governance data to make it readily available for the global audience, especially investors seeking to establish in the country.
"With this data, they can easily know the area of need and then channel their capital there. That way, more development is brought to the communities, and investors, too, can earn returns on their investments. We also hope that the federal government will see the need to establish an agency or ministry to aggregate such data and make it available in real time because, at the moment, there is none," he said.
Director of Government Relations, Eva James, said the initiative will address limited public scrutiny of local government activities by bringing council performance into the public domain.
She noted that councils would submit details of completed projects for assessment, while residents were expected to provide evidence of projects executed in their communities to support verification.
She said the goal was to ensure that local councils and states not only execute projects but also deliver impactful infrastructure.
"With this, we want to ensure that communities that need healthcare are not given roads. We will measure the impact of executed projects, and that's where the locals themselves come in. We have started writing to local government executives for a meeting to get their buy-in and make them understand this is at no cost to them," she added.
