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Nigeria for the second running scored 27 percent in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2018 released on Tuesday, scoring 27 out of 100 available point, and moved from 148th to 144th position among 180 countries because some countries did poorly than last year, according to the organization.
“With a score of 27, Nigeria remained unchanged on the CPI since 2017. Corruption was one of the biggest topics leading up to the 2015 election and it is expected to remain high on the agenda as the country prepares for this year’s presidential election taking place in February.
“Nigeria’s Buhari administration took a number of positive steps in the past three years, including the establishment of a presidential advisory committee against corruption, the improvement of the anti-corruption legal and policy framework in areas like public procurement and asset declaration, and the development of a national anti-corruption strategy, among others. However, these efforts have clearly not yielded the desired results. At least, not yet”, TI said in its 2019 report released earlier today.
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the Nigerian member of the Transparency International, launched the report today, saying “the 2018 Corruptions Perceptions Index (CPI) released globally by Transparency International today reveals that Nigeria has neither improved nor progressed in the perception of corruption in the public administration in 2018.
“There were recommendations that accompanied the launch of the CPI 2017, one of which was for the immediate appointment and prompt inauguration of the National Procurement Council (NPC) as provided in the Public Procurement Act.”
According to its Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, “CPI score comes at a time when Nigeria is being tested while experiencing threats to its system of checks and balances, insecurity, corrupt judicial practices, undiminished graft in public administration at all levels, threats to press freedom, diminishing civil society space, as well as an erosion of ethical norms at the highest levels of power.
“Since the current administration came into power on the anti-corruption ticket, a very few politically exposed persons have been duly sentenced on anti-corruption charges. Despite some indisputable evidence, many corrupt politicians and businessmen and women seem to be above the law and out of reach of law enforcement.
“Recent corruption scandals, including the GandujeGate, ShemaGate, DasukiGate, IkoyiGate, among others, have not seen diligent investigations, prosecutions and convictions of these cases and other Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs).
“The authorities need to understand that these acts deepen a sense of hopelessness among well-meaning Nigerians.”
