The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening transparency and service delivery through citizen participation, while acknowledging low public awareness of its Citizens’ Delivery Tracker (CDT) app,which monitors government projects and performance.

Speaking at a two-day Citizens’ Dialogue Forum on Government Accountability and Service Delivery in Abuja on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit (CRDCU), Hadiza Usman, said the administration is working to ensure governance outcomes are directly felt by Nigerians.

The forum was organised by the CRDCU in collaboration with Accountability Lab Nigeria, Open Government Partnership Nigeria, Dataphyte Foundation and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office under its Partnership for Agile Governance and Climate Engagement.

Usman explained that the CDT app, launched in April 2024 under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, was developed to give citizens a direct platform to track government projects, report concerns.

According to her, the application allows Nigerians to file complaints and monitor progress on projects from their mobile devices, thereby shifting governance from a top-down reporting system to a more inclusive, citizen-driven model.

She added that while the app is currently available on the Google Play Store, efforts are underway to make it accessible to iOS users to widen participation.

Despite its potential, the presidential aide admitted that awareness of the platform remains low, warning that without sustained public education, the CDT risks becoming a tool used only by a limited segment of the population.

She stressed the need for aggressive sensitisation campaigns to ensure that citizens not only know about the app but understand its importance in holding public officials accountable.

“We want the CDT to become a mass-market instrument for accountability,” she said, noting that feedback generated through the platform is transmitted directly to the Presidency and used to evaluate ministers and permanent secretaries based on performance benchmarks.

To improve the platform, Usman disclosed that the government is partnering with Accountability Lab Nigeria to conduct an independent assessment aimed at identifying structural and awareness gaps.

The findings, she said, would serve as a baseline for reforms targeted at boosting usage and improving response rates.

She outlined plans to optimise the app for commonly used devices, simplify its interface to reduce user drop-off, and strengthen security through measures like multi-factor authentication and clearer data privacy policies.

Usman also called on civil society organisations to adopt the CDT as a key advocacy tool, urging them to aggregate citizens’ feedback into collective demands for better governance. At the same time, she challenged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to respond promptly and effectively to issues raised on the platform.

“Accountability is not complete until the loop is closed and the citizen is heard,” she said.

She emphasised that a functional feedback mechanism signals the government’s readiness to be held accountable, urging stakeholders at the forum to contribute ideas that would strengthen the platform and improve service delivery across the country.

On her part, Programmes and Learning Manager, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Ehi Idakwo emphasised the importance of independent evaluation in strengthening public trust and improving the effectiveness of the Citizens’ Delivery Tracker (CDT).

She noted that the ongoing assessment of the platform would not only identify technical and structural gaps but also examine how citizens interact with the app and the challenges they face in using it. According to her, the exercise is designed to generate evidence-based recommendations that would enhance usability, accessibility, and responsiveness.

Idakwo stressed that citizen engagement tools can only succeed when they are widely understood and trusted by the public, adding that continuous feedback from users would be critical to refining the platform.

She also highlighted the need for sustained collaboration between government institutions and civil society groups to ensure that citizens’ voices are amplified and translated into tangible outcomes.

She further called for increased public awareness campaigns and grassroots sensitisation to drive adoption of the CDT, particularly in underserved communities, noting that inclusivity remains key to achieving meaningful accountability in governance.