Nigeria maintains a poor rating, standing at 150

Nigeria has again scored 24 points out of 100, while ranking 150th out of 180 countries on the 2022 Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International on Tuesday. The PUNCH reports.

While the country maintained its score from last year (2021) of 24 points out of 100, there was a change in ranking from 154 to 150 as some other countries underperformed in 2022.

This was as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission noted that it was unable to respond to or comment on the score and ranking.

Anti-graft agency spokesperson Ms. Azuka Ogugua said: “The federal government has always responded to the report annually and is expected to respond to the latest report. However, the ICPC is not in a position to respond to or comment on the report.”

However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission did not respond on Tuesday to an inquiry by our correspondent into what the CPI means for its fight against corruption in the country.

The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujar, did not respond to calls, texts or WhatsApp messages from our correspondent on Tuesday.

The PUNCH reports that the CPI is TI’s tool for measuring the levels of corruption in the systems of 180 countries around the world, based on prevailing indices.

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

For Nigeria, the CPI pulled its data for the ranking of eight globally acclaimed organizations, of which Nigeria is a partner.

The eight organizations are the World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey, Works Justice Project Rule of Law Index, Varieties of Democracy Project, Global Insight Country Risk Guide, PRS International Country Risk Guide, Economist Intelligence Unit Country Ratings and the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Transformation Index.

In previous years, Nigeria had experienced a sequential drop in the CPI ranking. In 2012 the country scored 27, and in 2013 it scored 25, then it went back to 27 in 2014 and fell to 26 in 2015, rose to 28 in 2016, 27 in 2017 and 2018, 26 in 2019, back to 25 in 2020 and 24 in 2021 and 2022.

According to Transparency International’s president, Delia Rubio, global corruption levels have been stagnant for 11 years in a row.

Rubio said: “Corruption has made our world more dangerous. As governments have collectively failed to make progress against it, they are fueling the current increase in violence and conflict – and endangering people everywhere. The only way out is for states to do the hard work, stamping out corruption at all levels to ensure governments work for all people, not just a few elites.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center in conjunction with TI noted that the pardons granted in 2022 by the Buhari-led government to two imprisoned former governors — Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Jolly Nyame of Taraba State, a major setback in the country’s anti-corruption efforts.