A sweeping corruption scandal is brewing in Nigeria’s South-South region as a prominent public accountability organization, the Circle of Life Foundation, has formally petitioned the nation’s top anti-graft agency to investigate allegations of “monumental corruption” spanning eighteen local government areas.
In a detailed petition dated May 20, 2026, and addressed to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the foundation alleges a coordinated and systematic diversion of public resources within Cross River State. The document paints a grim picture of local governance, describing the state’s local councils as having become a “breeding ground for financial recklessness.”
The allegations target the chairmen and principal officers of all 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state, including key hubs such as Calabar Municipal, Akpabuyo, Bakassi, and Ikom.
The petition outlines a sophisticated array of alleged financial crimes, ranging from the crude to the complex. Central to the complaint is the purported diversion of statutory allocations from the Federation Account funds intended for grassroots development into private accounts or shared among political cronies.
Perhaps most damning are the allegations of “ghost projects.” The Circle of Life Foundation claims to have received numerous reports of contracts awarded for sums that were intentionally inflated, or worse, for projects that were never executed at all, existing only on paper despite being fully paid for with public funds.
The petition also highlights a staggering debt of over ₦431 million owed to legitimate contractors and service providers. According to the document, these debts were officially verified as “valid and authentic” by the state’s Ministry of Local Government Affairs, yet the funds allegedly deducted from workers’ salaries specifically to settle these debts were never remitted.
Beyond the balance sheets, the petition emphasizes the human toll of the alleged mismanagement. The foundation cites the continued maintenance of “ghost workers” on payroll systems and “salary padding” as a primary reason why genuine civil servants and pensioners continue to suffer.
”The situation has become so alarming that workers, contractors, pensioners, and rural communities continue to suffer abandonment,” the petition reads, noting that vital infrastructure like rural roads, primary healthcare centers, and water supply systems remain non-existent despite repeated budgetary allocations.
”The local government system, which ought to be the closest tier of government to the people, has unfortunately become a breeding ground for monumental corruption,” the foundation stated.
The Circle of Life Foundation is calling for a “comprehensive forensic investigation” into the finances of all 18 councils from 2021 to the present.
Their demands to the ICPC include:
*The immediate interrogation of all serving Local Government Chairmen, Treasurers, and Directors of Finance.
*A thorough tracing of all bank accounts linked to the councils and relevant officials.
*The recovery of all misappropriated public funds and the prosecution of those found culpable.
As of Tuesday morning, the ICPC has not issued an official statement regarding the receipt of the petition, and the Chairmen of the affected Local Government Areas have yet to respond to these specific allegations.
In a climate where Nigerians are increasingly demanding transparency from their leaders, this petition serves as a high-stakes test for the country’s anti-corruption machinery. For the citizens of Cross River State, the outcome of this probe could mean the difference between continued rural decay and the restoration of basic, life-sustaining public services.
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