- The federal government has rejected Transparency International (TI)'s report that there is a high rate of corruption in the country
- With proofs, official reports claim Nigeria, under the Buhari administration, has improved in many aspects of its national affairs between 2016 and 2017
- Laolu Akande, a senior special assistant on media and publicity in the presidency said that there have been clear procedures and accountability in the monitoring of public funds in the country's ministries, departments and agencies
Contrary to the report by Transparency International on the high rate of corruption in Nigeria between 2016 and 2017, details as to why the federal government rejected the claims are now springing up.
The TI had reported tha Nigeria ranked 148 out of 180 countries assessed in 2017 on the perception of corruption in the annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI), but a closer review of the report showed that in all of the nine categories of the evaluation, Nigeria fell short in only on category, while performing fairly well in others.
In the 2016 Index, the nation was ranked 136th, scoring 28 points out of 176 countries. An official source said: “It must also be pointed out that compared to the 2016 Index, Nigeria either improved or remained stable in all, but one of the Indexes."
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As an example, Nigeria improved significantly in key indexes between 2016 and 2017: the Bertelsmann foundation transformation Index, a 5-point improvement; African development bank country policy and institutional assessment, a 2-point improvement; a 1-point improvement in the world justice project rule of law index expert survey and world economic forum executive opinion.
Reports further revealed that Nigeria remained stable in the following indexes: World Bank country policy and institutional assessment, global insight country risk ratings; PRS group international country risk guide and varieties of democracy project.
The only index ijn which the country fell short was the economic intelligence unit country risk service, on which basis is the sole reason for Nigeria’s decline in the overall Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index of 2017.
The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index evaluates the quality of democracy, a market economy and political management in 129 developing and transition countries, while the African development bank country policy and institutional assessment measures the capacity of a country to support sustainable growth, poverty reduction, and the effective use of development assistance with a particular focus on the assessment of key elements that are within the country's control. Nigeria improved in this categories in the TI’s report.
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Going by these findings, the Buhari administration’s effort in tackling corruption is perceived to have improved, and this is given credence by the improvement in the indexes.
A source in the the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC), revealed: “President Muhammadu Buhari remains fully committed to combating corruption, despite the challenges, and this administration will not relent in doing so in all areas. With hundreds of convictions secured by the EFCC alone in 2016 and 2017, and assets worth billions of naira recovered, it is evident that the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) under the Buhari administration has made significant strides in the fight against corruption.” The source also said that the administration supports the rule of law and the sanctity of the judiciary in ensuring that these cases are properly prosecuted.
Moreover, the report also showed that in 2013 Nigeria scored 25, but jumped to 28 in 2016, a year after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.
Laolu Akande, a senior special assistant on media and publicity in the presidency said that under the Buhari administration, there have been clear procedures and accountability in the monitoring of public funds in country's ministries, departments and agencies.
He pointed out that the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), by the present administration has also aided the country to save billions of naira. Also, through the TSA and other interventions, the federal government has made massive reforms to detect fraudulent activities in public offices.
He remarked: “In 2016, for instance, the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Auditing (PICA) discovered discrepancies in the payroll of several MDAs to the tune of N5.7 billion monthly. Also, over 50,000 ghost workers have been uncovered by the audit team, as a result, over N120bn has been reportedly saved.
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"Leakages of unremitted funds have been blocked in many of country’s Revenue Generating Agencies, which have seen an increase in their revenues in recent times.
“The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, remitted N1 trillion into the Federation account, the highest ever remittance by the agency, despite the country being in recession half of the year.”
Akande also revealed that the revenue generated by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), improved. The exams body remitted about N7.8 billion to the federal government in 2017,which is a contrast to the paltry N3 million that was the highest amount of money remitted by the agency considering what was obtainable in the past.
Similarly, the 2017 half-year remittance of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) was greater than its 2015 and 2016 returns combined.
Akande remarked: “You can see that these developments are indicators that demonstrate public confidence in the administration and the steady success in tackling corruption in the public sector.
“The administration’s whistle-blower policy which was introduced in December 2016 by the Federal Government to tackle corruption - a first of its kind government initiative in the country - has also helped in the area of accountability in the use of public funds in different sectors of national life.
“Out of the about 5,000 reports made, about 365 were actionable as at July 2017. While 39% of these reports were related to the diversion of funds, 15% related to violation of TSA,” according to Akande."
Moreso, experts have argued that Nigeria’s recovery from recession, the steady growth in the economy, and the subsequent improvement in the 2018 World Bank Doing Business Index, where the country climbed up 24 places and was placed on the list of 10 most reformed economies globally, are proofs of the economic policies brought about by the President Buhari administration.
The administration, despite the country's economic setbacks, has been commended in several areas for making considerable investments on infrastructure projects, the provision of N1.3trn for capital expenditure in 2016, a historic highest budget used for capital projects.
Earlier, NAIJ.com reported that vice president Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday, February 27, said Transparency International’s verdict on Nigeria is not a setback , but an encouragement for the country to work harder and close its ranks.
While speaking on the theme, 'The imperative of cooperation of arms of government in a democratic dispensation,' at the dialogue of organs of government on reform of justice sector and campaign against corruption, Osinbajo said the latest corruption perception index should not be misconstrued, but an opportunity to continue building on the many successes recorded in key sectors of the country.
FG rejects Transparency International's report on corruption
