FG is not fighting corruption to impress anyone – Mohammed

The federal government said on Wednesday it is not fighting corruption to impress civil society groups, Transparency International or any other anti-corruption watchdog.

Rather, it said its anti-corruption move was designed to ensure growth in all sectors of the country’s economy.

“We are not fighting corruption because we want to impress Transparency International or any organization,” Information Minister Lai Mohammed told State House correspondents after this week’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council, chaired by the president, at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Transparency International released its Corruption Perceptions Index report for 2022 on Tuesday, with Nigeria maintaining its 2021 score of 24 points out of 100 and ranking 150th out of 180 countries.

The 2022 CPI, released on January 31, 2023, places Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland in the top 10. According to the report, their scores range between 90 and 77; these countries are the ‘cleanest’.

However, it ranked Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, North Korea, Libya, Yemen, Venezuela, South Sudan, Syria and Somalia as the most corrupt 10, with scores ranging from 12 to 17 out of 100.

The indices include bribery, misuse of public funds, government officials using public office without consequence for personal gain, the ability of governments to contain corruption and enforce effective integrity mechanisms in the public sector, red tape and excessive bureaucratic burdens, which opportunities for corruption and meritocratic versus nepotistic appointments in the civil service.

However, the federal government made mistakes with TI’s template used in the survey.

It advised the anti-corruption watchdog to adjust its assessment template, adding that the Buhari regime is taking corruption seriously.

According to the minister: “We are not fighting corruption because we want to impress Transparency International or any organization for that matter.

“We fight corruption because we believe that if we don’t fight corruption, there will be no growth in terms of economics or even politics.

“Therefore, what we do and what we put in place to fight corruption is not because we want to be judged by anyone.”

He questioned the template used for the survey, saying, “Whatever template they use, they are clearly unaware of what this government is doing to fight corruption.”

“You don’t just fight corruption by the number of people you’ve arrested. How many people have you tried? How many people have you convicted?

“So we don’t worry or worry about Transparency International’s rating because we know that all we’re doing is making sure we’re fighting corruption the best way we know how.

“If they don’t see this, then I think they should change their template. But again, we are not fighting corruption to impress them.”

Mohammed argued that the regime’s handling of the Abacha looting and the efforts of anti-revenue agencies, such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, have made corruption difficult.

He said: “For me, this is an example of how to fight corruption – an example of how to make sure people don’t steal again what has been recovered.

“I am proud to say that we have been more proactive in fighting corruption and people don’t want to see what we have done to fight corruption.

“Once again, the courage of this administration to expose even senior government officials who have broken the law is a testament to our determination and courage to fight corruption.”