World Bank, SERVICOM inaugurate Nigeria’s E- grievance, feedback mechanism platform

The World Bank, in collaboration with Service Compact with All Nigerians (SERVICOM), on Thursday inaugurated Nigeria Electronic Grievance Management and Feedback Mechanism Platform (E-GM) to strengthen accountability/service delivery in the country.

The platform is a digital system designed to create a centralised, transparent and trackable mechanism for receiving and managing complaints and feedback from citizens, particularly on projects supported by the World Bank.

In his keynote address, the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office (GSO), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Dr Ibrahim Kana, said the initiative would reinforce accountability and transparency in Nigeria’s public service.

Kana, represented by Mrs Kamiltu Kida, Director of Legal Services in the office, described the platform as a landmark initiative that would strengthen citizens’ trust in government institutions.

”It is a great honour to witness the launch of the Nigeria Electronic Grievance Management Platform, a milestone that reinforces our collective commitment to accountability, transparency and service excellence in Nigeria’s public sector,” he said.

He commended SERVICOM for its sustained efforts in promoting service delivery reforms across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through service charters, complaint-handling systems and performance monitoring frameworks.

According to him, the decision by the World Bank to partner SERVICOM to host and manage the electronic grievance redress platform is a testament to the agency’s nationwide presence and institutional capacity.

Kana said embedding the platform within SERVICOM would ensure that grievance redress mechanisms for development projects remain functional even after the lifespan of such projects.

”This guarantees continuity in complaint resolution beyond the lifespan of individual projects and programmes, transforming what was once project-bound into a sustainable national mechanism,” he said.

In her remarks, the Acting National Coordinator of SERVICOM, Mrs Helen Lawal, said the inauguration marked a defining milestone in strengthening accountability and citizen-centred governance in Nigeria.

Lawal explained that the initiative was developed through sustained collaboration between SERVICOM and the Environmental and Social Framework Unit of the World Bank.

She said the engagement, which began in 2023, involved meetings, interviews, workshops with pilot MDAs, capacity-building sessions and the establishment of a situation room for managing the platform.

“The objective is to ensure that grievance redress processes tied to World Bank-assisted projects do not terminate at the end of project cycles, but continue seamlessly within Nigeria’s national accountability framework,” she said.

She noted that citizens’ concerns often persisted beyond project timelines, making it necessary to institutionalise grievance management within national systems.

She added that SERVICOM’s nationwide structure, including ministerial and parastatal SERVICOM units across MDAs, would provide an institutional framework for receiving, tracking and resolving complaints across government institutions.

”The Nigerian E-GM platform builds on this structure and leverages digital innovation to create a transparent mechanism for managing complaints and feedback,” she said.

Also speaking, Mr Elijah Siapere, Senior Social Development Specialist at the World Bank, said grievance and complaint resolution remained a key element of quality service delivery and project implementation.

Siapere commended the Federal Government and SERVICOM for providing the enabling environment that made the initiative possible.

He expressed optimism that the system would strengthen accountability in development projects and remain operational in the long term.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between the World Bank and SERVICOM to formalise collaboration on the implementation and management of the platform.