..seeks more support for Ombudsman
The Chief Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), Hon. Bashir Abubakar, has projected that Nigeria could achieve a 60 per cent reduction in its governance challenges within two years if the Nigerian Ombudsman is given the necessary institutional support and opportunity to discharge its mandate effectively.
Abubakar said strengthening the Commission’s capacity to address complaints, resolve disputes and promote administrative justice would help curb crises, prevent grievances from escalating and reduce pressure on the courts.
He also urged Nigerians to take advantage of the Commission’s services to seek redress for grievances, particularly those arising from the actions and inactions of public institutions.
The Chief Commissioner made the remarks while addressing a gathering of stakeholders at a conference organised by the Commission, with the theme, “System Building and Compliance: A Key Factor in Good Governance.”
Expressing confidence in the Commission’s potential to contribute to national stability, Abubakar said an adequately supported Ombudsman could help address many of the problems confronting the country.
“If the leadership of the Public Complaints Commission can be given the opportunity, with all the federal commissioners here present and the management we have, in two years, we are going to reduce the problem of Nigeria by 60 per cent,” he said.
He argued that many governance challenges could be addressed through effective complaints resolution and early intervention, particularly where citizens’ grievances were allowed to linger without appropriate attention.
According to him, the Ombudsman provides an accessible avenue for citizens to seek redress and resolve appropriate disputes before they escalate into wider conflicts or require litigation.
“The best way of settling disputes is out-of-court settlement,” he said, explaining that the Commission’s approach was to encourage parties to explore available avenues for resolving their grievances before resorting to the courts.
Abubakar added: “The Ombudsman mission is, why are you going to the court? Let us settle before we go to the court.”
He stressed, however, that the Commission needed stronger institutional capacity and sustained support to maximise its impact on governance and public service delivery.
The Chief Commissioner disclosed that the Commission had received approximately 1.2 million complaints and resolved more than 700,000 cases within the last two years, describing the volume of complaints handled during the period as overwhelming.
He contrasted the figures with the Commission’s record over its first 50 years, when it received approximately 1.8 million complaints and resolved about 1.4 million cases.
Abubakar attributed the Commission’s recent progress partly to the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly, saying sustained engagements with the executive and legislature had helped address some of the challenges confronting the institution.
“I attribute this big contribution, honestly, to Mr President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
He explained that he and the federal commissioners had written to relevant government institutions and agencies to draw attention to the Commission’s needs and secure the necessary interventions.
According to him, the Presidency, working with the National Assembly, has responded to some of the issues raised.
“The Presidency, in collaboration with the National Assembly, was able to quickly address part of our issues,” he said, while expressing appreciation to the President, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen and other lawmakers for their support.
Abubakar maintained that an effective Ombudsman institution could make a significant contribution to reducing tensions and preventing disputes from developing into more serious national challenges.
He identified unresolved grievances, administrative failures and inadequate channels for seeking redress as areas where stronger institutional intervention could make a difference.
The Chief Commissioner also called for closer collaboration between the Commission and traditional institutions, arguing that community leaders could play an important role in resolving disputes at the grassroots.
He noted that traditional institutions across Africa had long served as avenues for settling disagreements and maintaining peaceful relations within communities.
“That is why, to me, an Ombudsman office in Africa cannot go well without the traditional institution coming in, because we reduce a lot of tension to the judicial institution,” he said.
He urged governments and other leaders to listen to the people they govern, stressing that responsive leadership was essential to achieving lasting results.
“There is no success you can achieve when you are a leader without listening to the people that you govern,” Abubakar said.
He further emphasised that effective leadership depended on strong institutions, compliance with the rule of law and adherence to professional ethics and established procedures.
“No matter how good you are in leadership, if the organs of where you are governing, only one of them is not working or functioning well, that leader is wasting his time,” he said.
The Chief Commissioner warned against building institutions around individuals rather than sustainable systems, noting that some organisations had collapsed after the departure of their founders because they failed to establish structures capable of sustaining their operations.
At the PCC, he said, the guiding principle was to ensure that every office and sector was left better than it was found.
“We make sure we reinvigorate every sector, every office with the slogan: ‘Leave a place a little better than you met it’,” he said.
Abubakar said the Commission planned to sustain the conference as an annual platform for bringing together stakeholders from government, traditional institutions, the judiciary and other sectors to examine ways of strengthening institutions and improving compliance with the principles of good governance.
He added that Nigeria had the capacity to play a greater role in the African and international Ombudsman movement but stressed the need to consolidate the Commission’s operations at home before pursuing wider leadership responsibilities.
He expressed confidence that stronger institutional support, greater public awareness and improved collaboration among stakeholders would enable the Commission to expand its reach and contribute more effectively to administrative justice and national development.
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