‘Nigeria has Deficit in Transparency, Accountability in Govt’

 A political scientist, Prof. Adele Jinadu, has said there is a deficit in transparency and accountability in government and private practices in Nigeria.

The academic spoke in Lagos at a one-day National Improvement Dialogue, organized by One Voice, a coalition of National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Grantees non-governmental organizations (NGO), he said that there was need for the middle class and professional bodies to imbibe internal vigilance, adding that sacrifice is the price of democracy.

He said the country lacks the combination of political and legal culture to affect change, noting that to attain same, the middle class and professionals must insist on doing the right rights without fear or favour.

Jinadu, who was the Chairman of the occasion, berated accountants, lawyers and other professional for neglecting the core values of their profession which he said gave the political class the opportunity to get away to impoverish the masses with impunity.

“The most debilitating deficit in our practice of law is that the moral structure is no longer there. There is need to emphasize on ethics in professional lives”, he stressed.

According to him, the nation needs a skeptical public that are willing to make sacrifices adding that the concept of neighborhood watch is needed to police those in government because they are not willing to implement good governance.

“We have to be confrontational towards the powers that be to achieve desired change in this country.” He said.

Commending the organizers for choosing vital topics to address national issues, Jinadu said that constitutional reform is inevitable be it through the Sovereign National Conference or National Assembly, even as he called on Nigerians to insist on a referendum before the adoption of any constitution.Nation