In corruption index released by Transparency International on Tuesday 29th January, 2019 shows that Nigerian is still deeply enmeshed in corruption without a clear cut policies to tackle it.
The 2018 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as released by the anti-corruption campaigner showed in their findings that Nigeria neither improved nor progressed in the perception of corruption in the public administration in the previous year.
According to the Nigerian Chapter of The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Transparency International, Nigeria scored 27 out of the total points in the CPI of 2018. The CPI scored in 2018 is the same as that of 2017 which indicated that corruption perception for Nigeria remains the same.
In comparison with other countries, out of the one hundred and eighty (180) countries assessed, Nigeria ranked 144 – better than only 36 countries in the 2018 CPI. The positions show that Nigeria moved up 4 places when compared with the 2017 CPI ranking. Since the CPI of Nigeria for the year 2018 and 2017 is the same at 27 over 100 showed that four other countries did worse than what they recorded in 2017.
In totality, the CPI ranking of Nigeria at 27 over 100 indicates that Nigeria is still as corrupt as it was in 2017.
The CPI of a country is determined with different data which are concerned with perception of the country by the business community and experts assessment of level of corruption at the public sector of the country.
The CPI score of Nigeria was assessed based on different sources which include:
- Varieties of Democracy Project;
- World Justice Project Rule of Law Index;
- the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey;
- World Bank Corruption Perception Assessment;
- PRS International Country Risk Guide;
- Economist Intelligence Unit Country Ratings;
- Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index; and
- African Development Bank Perception Survey.
According to Transparency International, “All the above assessment sources are impartial, well-respected, statistically significant and evidence-based sources.” The organisation strongly believed that eliminating corruption from public service would propel Nigeria’s economic standing amongst the rest of the world. In its latest statement, CISLAC repeated some of its past antidotes for corruption as follows:
- Supporting a free and independent media, ensuring the safety of journalists and their ability to work without intimidation or harassment;
- Supporting civil society organisations which enhance political engagement and public oversight over government spending, particularly at the state and local level;
- Strengthening the institutions responsible for maintaining checks and balances over political power, and ensuring their ability to operate without intimidation; and
- Closing the implementation gap between anti-corruption legislation, practice and enforcement.
