TheCable

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation says as part of its On Nigeria grant-making, it would be funding the anti-corruption efforts in Nigeria with $6.5 million.

It said the grant is to help in fighting corruption by building an atmosphere of accountability, transparency, and good governance in Nigeria.

“The country has begun an important process of addressing the corruption that plagues it on so many levels,” Kole Shettima, director of MacArthur’s Nigeria office said in statement issued on Thursday.

He added that “it is more important now than ever to keep anti-corruption work front and center on the national agenda, and to empower people and communities with the information and platforms they need to advocate for themselves and fight for the issues that impact their daily lives”.

The grants which are for not-for-profit organisations would be used to promoting anti-corruption advocacy as a national priority in the preparations for the 2019 elections.

“They include support for efforts to strengthen systems and study what works to reduce corruption. These awards build on decades of Foundation support for projects to enhance credibility, integrity, monitoring, and security around past elections. They continue MacArthur’s recent support for organizations working to capitalize on the national momentum and increased political will to tackle corruption, with projects ranging from monitoring and transparency measures around the political process to public education about the costs of corruption,” part of the statement further read.

The grant winners include:

• Accountability Research Center (Washington, D.C.): To partner with the Center for Democracy and Development in Nigeria to assess the success of approaches and strategies to strengthen accountability around the world and in Nigeria.
• Centre for Information Technology & Development (Kano): To support efforts by civil society organizations to provide platforms and forums for social discourse around accountability and anti-corruption in advance of the 2019 elections.
• Chatham House (London): To research the efficacy of behavioral change strategies to reduce corruption and promote accountability in Nigeria.
• Legal Defense and Assistance Project (Lagos): To support efforts by six states to fully implement 15 core elements of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act that improve criminal investigation and prosecution efforts in corruption cases.
• Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (Abuja): To support efforts by civil society organizations to galvanize public and political debates on accountability and to keep anti-corruption as an important national issue in advance of the 2019 elections.
• Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation (Abuja): To support regional organizations to galvanize public and political debates on accountability and highlight anti-corruption as a broad national issue in advance of the 2019 National election.
• Women’s Rights Advancement & Protection Alternative (Abuja): To mobilize and support women and women’s groups to document the cost of corruption on women, speak out against corruption, and promote anti-corruption and accountability as priority issues through traditional and social media in advance of the 2019 elections.

Nigeria has been receiving grants from the foundation since 1989. MarcArthur opened its Nigerian office in 1994.

The Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF), a partner organisation of TheCable, is currently running a three-year programme under the On Nigeria programme of the MacArthur Foundation.