Federal and State Governments have been advised to effectively utilise information technology to promote transparency and accountability in governance.

This is contained in a communique issued at the end of townhall meeting organised by Wadata Media and Advocacy Centre (WAMAC), an NGO, with the support of MacArthur Foundation, signed by Mr Zubair Idris, the Executive Director of WAMAC, in Yola on Thursday.

The meeting recommended digitalisation of budget, procurement process and employment.

“We identified the disconnect between the governance and governed as a source of mistrust and lack of accountability.

“Participants calls for active participation of stakeholders in governance particularly Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), youth and women groups, physically challenged forums as well as professionals and unions,” they recommended.

The forum also identified behaviour change as a core necessity to fight corruption, by calling on individuals to look inwards at their attitudes in their every day life that may encourage corruption.

“Citizens should shun all self-gratifying attitudes which has always prevented citizens from having the high moral rights to call out corrupt practices.

“The town hall called on citizens to adopt core values of respect, dignity of labour and honesty in their daily lives,” it stated.

The participants were drawn from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Media, Civil Society Organizations, People with Disabilities (PWDs) and traditional rulers among