Accountability: The Bedrock of National Development

By Kingsley Ndubueze Ayozie

Recently, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) convened its 2026 Economic Outlook Summit under the theme “ICAN @60: Accountability as the Bedrock for National Development.” The gathering brought together accounting and finance professionals, policymakers, industry leaders, academics, and members of the Institute to reflect on a question that continues to trouble Nigeria and many developing economies: why has development remained stubbornly elusive despite repeated reforms and policy resets?

The keynote address by Professor Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, provided a timely and practical framing of the issue. He described accountability as the obligation to transparently report and be answerable for decisions, actions, and inactions in the management of public resources and public trust. In his formulation, accountability rests on three pillars: reporting, answerability, and responsibility. More significantly, he described accountability as the bridge between reform and results, a statement that captures Nigeria’s central governance challenge.

Across many developing and underdeveloped countries, economic stagnation, social fragility, and institutional decay are rarely accidents. They are often the consequences of weak leadership and poorly designed governance structures. In Nigeria’s case, the symptoms are familiar: dilapidated infrastructure, unreliable electricity supply, inadequate healthcare systems, food insecurity, rising insecurity, executive overreach, fiscal indiscipline, widespread corruption, and persistent disregard for the rule of law. These problems are not isolated failures; they are interconnected outcomes of a system where accountability is weak or absent.

Good governance, supported by strong accountability and transparency frameworks, remains the most credible pathway out of this cycle. Without accountability, policies lose their force, budgets become ritual documents, and institutions struggle to deliver results. When leaders are not compelled to explain how public resources are allocated or why certain decisions are taken, public confidence erodes. Citizens disengage, compliance weakens, and distrust becomes the dominant feature of state–citizen relations.

Accountability, therefore, should not be viewed merely as an ethical ideal or a compliance requirement. It is a practical governance tool that ensures resources are used efficiently and policies achieve their intended outcomes. It also provides a mechanism for correcting failures early, learning from mistakes, and improving institutional performance over time.

The importance of accountability in public life is well established. As far back as 1995, the United Kingdom’s Nolan Committee articulated seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership. Among these principles, accountability occupies a central position because it gives practical meaning to the others. From both global experience and local observation, no economy has achieved sustained development without embedding these principles into its governance culture.

When accountability is practised consistently across all levels of government, local, state, and federal, it produces tangible benefits. It improves service delivery in critical areas such as electricity, housing, potable water, education, healthcare, and transportation. It strengthens fiscal discipline, promotes value for money, and reduces wasteful spending. It also encourages inclusive governance, credible elections, effective security provision, and respect for the rule of law.

Furthermore, accountability plays a critical role in reducing corruption. Transparent reporting, clear performance benchmarks, and effective oversight reduce opportunities for mismanagement and abuse of public funds. Tools such as value-for-money audits, which focus on economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, become meaningful only when public officials are held responsible for outcomes. Over time, this culture supports financial sustainability, prudent savings, and long-term development planning.

Importantly, accountability is not the responsibility of the government alone. While leadership sets the tone, professionals, institutions, civil society, and citizens all have roles to play in demanding transparency and upholding ethical standards. Accountability must be practised not only in public office but also in private organisations and everyday civic life. Development cannot be sustained where accountability is selective or episodic.

As Nigeria navigates another year of economic and political uncertainty, the demand from citizens is both simple and urgent: leaders must be accountable. This obligation applies across all arms of government, the executive, legislature, and judiciary, and at every level of authority. Accountability and transparency are inseparable; one cannot exist meaningfully without the other.

Ultimately, building a governance system anchored on accountability is not a theoretical exercise. It is a practical necessity for restoring trust, strengthening institutions, and achieving sustainable national development. Until accountability becomes a lived principle rather than a conference theme, reforms will continue to fall short of their promise.

Dr Kingsley Ndubueze Ayozie, FCTI, FCA, is a public affairs analyst and chartered accountant based in Lagos.