Femi Falana, Human rights lawyer, will deliver the keynote address at the screening of LG Billions in the Dark, an investigative documentary examining the prolonged local government leadership crisis in Osun State and its implications for public finance, accountability and service delivery.
The screening, organised by DevReporting, is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times and chief executive officer of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), will chair the event. The documentary examines concerns over local government administration in Osun State, against the backdrop of wider debates over financial control, political interference and the ability of councils to operate independently.
Local governments are constitutionally recognised as the tier of government closest to citizens, with responsibilities covering primary healthcare, basic infrastructure, sanitation and other essential services. Their ability to discharge these responsibilities depends partly on effective financial management, administrative capacity and accountability to residents.
The screening will feature a panel discussion involving public officials, civil society leaders, governance experts, academics and development practitioners, who will examine the challenges facing local government administration in Nigeria.
The panellists include Dosu Babatunde, Osun State commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs; Zikirullahi Ibrahim, executive director of the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED); and Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, executive director of Spaces for Change.
Others are Joshua Osiyemi, head of Tracka at BudgIT, Vera Amaechi, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Lagos, and Bukola Adebayo, senior multimedia strategist at DevReporting.
Mojeed Alabi, team lead at DevReporting, said the documentary reflects the organisation’s commitment to public-interest journalism and scrutiny of governance issues affecting citizens.
Falana’s keynote address, titled Accountability, Resources and Citizen Voices: Building Local Governments that Work for the People, will examine the relationship between local government autonomy, public resource management, citizens’ rights and accountability at the grassroots.
The event will also mark the unveiling of the Development Reporting Africa Foundation (DRAF), alongside a fundraising initiative to support its public-interest development reporting activities.
Alabi described DRAF as a non-profit initiative established to strengthen development reporting, generate and communicate evidence, promote public engagement and advance accountability on issues affecting communities across Africa.
Beyond the screening, DevReporting is developing a civic education and youth engagement initiative to take the documentary to tertiary institutions across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The proposed programme will combine campus screenings with training, mentorship and youth-led accountability projects aimed at improving students’ understanding of local government administration, public finance and citizen participation.
The initiative is intended to encourage more young Nigerians to scrutinise how local governments receive and spend public funds and to demand better delivery of essential services.
The documentary was produced with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy through CJID.
DevReporting is a media and cinematic platform focused on development issues across Nigeria and Africa. It uses investigative reporting, multimedia storytelling, research and media capacity development to promote transparency, accountability and inclusive development.
