Transparency Watch Initiative Ranks NEDC, NCC Among Nigeria’s Best Performing Public Institutions

The Transparency Watch Initiative, a civic accountability and governance assessment organisation, has ranked the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the most outstanding public institutions in Nigeria in its latest Fiscal Responsibility and Institutional Performance Report.

The report, released in Abuja on Friday by the group’s executive director, Dr Ifure Ataifure, assessed federal agencies on transparency practices, fiscal discipline, project implementation, regulatory efficiency, public responsiveness, and measurable contribution to national development goals.

According to the report, the NEDC and NCC emerged among the top-performing institutions alongside agencies such as the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Debt Management Office (DMO), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The organisation said the ranking followed months of independent institutional monitoring, field assessments, stakeholder engagement, and analysis of public sector performance indicators across key sectors of the economy.

Ataifure noted that the NEDC stood out for its intervention-driven development model and visible impact across insurgency-affected communities in the north-east.

According to him, the commission demonstrated remarkable consistency in infrastructure rehabilitation, humanitarian intervention, education support, healthcare delivery, housing projects, and livelihood restoration programmes despite the difficult security environment confronting the region.

“The NEDC has shown measurable commitment to post-conflict recovery and institutional accountability in one of the most difficult operating environments in the country,” Ataifure said.

“At a time when public confidence in many government institutions remains weak, the commission has continued to demonstrate visible project execution and strategic coordination of development interventions across communities devastated by insurgency.”

The report added that the agency’s growing stakeholder engagement framework and community-focused interventions have helped strengthen confidence in government presence across several north-east communities.

On the telecommunications sector, the report described the NCC as one of Nigeria’s most stable and professionally managed regulatory institutions.

Ataifure said the commission has sustained regulatory consistency while driving broadband expansion, digital inclusion, consumer protection, and investor confidence within the telecom industry.

According to him, the NCC’s ability to maintain industry stability despite inflationary pressures, infrastructure challenges, and rising operational costs facing operators reflects institutional maturity and strategic leadership.

“The NCC remains one of the strongest examples of regulatory efficiency within Nigeria’s public sector,” he said.

“Its contribution to digital access, communications stability, broadband penetration, and economic productivity continues to position the telecommunications sector as one of the country’s most resilient growth drivers.”

The report particularly commended the commission’s balancing of consumer protection with investor sustainability, describing its regulatory approach as disciplined, predictable, and development-oriented.

Transparency Watch Initiative said both institutions demonstrated stronger institutional coherence than many public agencies often weighed down by bureaucratic inefficiency, weak implementation culture, and poor accountability structures.

Ataifure added that while no public institution should be exempt from scrutiny, agencies delivering measurable public value deserve recognition to encourage a stronger culture of performance within government institutions.

He said Nigeria’s broader development aspirations would remain difficult to achieve unless public institutions embrace transparency, operational discipline, and result-oriented governance.

According to the report, the performances recorded by the NEDC and NCC show that effective governance remains achievable when institutions are guided by competence, strategic leadership, and commitment to public service.