Corruption Perception Index: Nigeria Ranks 150 out of 180, Transparency International

The Transparency International (TI) released the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) with Nigeria ranking 150 out of 180 countries compared to 154 on the 2021 CPI results.

In the index published exclusively in Nigeria by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the National Chapter of TI, showed that, while the index does not show specific incidences of corruption in the country, it indicates the perception of corruption in Nigeria.

The index is impartial, objective and globally acknowledged as the most widely used cross-country parameter for measuring corruption.

TI stressed that index perception is not an assessment of Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies who are making commendable efforts in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, despite the political interference they face.

The CPI reports indicated that “While Nigerians had high expectations that this regime could address corruption, the CPI index for the country has remained consistently low in the last 10 years.

“The data used for the CPI is not collected by CISLAC/TI-Nigeria but by independent and reputable organizations with sound research methodologies. CISLAC/TI-Nigeria notes that while Nigeria moved 4 places up on the country ranking, Nigeria maintained its previous score of 24 which is its lowest score on the CPI since 2012”.

The CISLAC/TI-Nigeria listed reasons why Nigeria may not have either moved downwards or upwards on the 2022 CPI score. Some of these are positive, while others are negative.

Some of the positive points are the Passage of Key Legislations. The passage of the Electoral Act 2022 has helped to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral system. This has further improved citizens confidence in the electoral process. The Act compliments the 1999 Constitution especially in areas relating to political party financing.

It said, the passage of the Proceeds of Crime (and Management) Act 2022 is also an important step in strengthening Nigeria’s asset recovery process as relevant state institutions take steps in compliance with the Act, and encouraged INEC to implement the act fully.

“Also, the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 has helped to strengthen Nigeria’s legal frameworks when it comes to the prevention and combatting of money laundering and related crimes.

“Having listed the positive areas, CISLAC/TI-Nigeria would like to highlight key weaknesses that will need to be improved, which it noted that, the pardoning of certain individuals by the current administration in 2022 is a major setback in the efforts to address corruption in Nigeria.

The singular act, it said is damaging as it fails the test of equity and fairness as those pardoned were Politically Exposed Person (PEPs) and the poor citizens who have been jailed for similar crimes (or even lesser offences) were left out of the pardon.

“The continuous occurrence of oil theft which is happening despite the presence of numerous security agencies in Nigeria, and increased spending on security is a major challenge in Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts. While oil producing countries are having increase in revenues, Nigeria’s 2022 oil earnings was plagued with numerous news of oil theft as Nigeria was unable to meet it’s Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries quota.

The organization also identified the opaqueness of the Subsidy Regime as another weakness, saying that, in 2022, Nigeria’s National Assembly approved N4 trillion as subsidy payments for the year 2022.

The figure represented about twenty-five percent of Nigeria’s budget and despite this, Nigerians were subjected to queues for most of 2022 to get Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), with a disparity in the price with citizens purchasing the product above the range in different parts of the country according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

“It is also important to add that there was an import of toxic fuel in 2022, and nobody has been held to account for this economic and financial crime.

CISLAC/TI-Nigeria and other partners have argued in the past that there is a nexus between corruption in the security sector and insecurity in Nigeria, even as it identified the lack of Transparency in Constituency Projects as another weakness.

“The Zonal intervention projects also known as constituency projects have continued to be operated in an opaque manner, plagued with corruption. In November 2022, the Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related offences Commission (ICPC) launched its fifth phase of Constituency and Executive project tracking.

Judicial Challenges is another challenges, noting that the Nigerian judiciary has also contributed to the challenges faced in tackling corruption in Nigeria.

The organization recommended that the presidency, INEC, political parties, security actors and other relevant bodies should ensure that the 2023 general elections are free, fair, and credible

The presidency, it said, should ensure that adequate consultation is made with citizens, the media, civil society, and other actors before presidential pardons are granted and that, the relevant anti-graft agencies should ensure that high profile corruption cases are pursued to their logical conclusion for the benefit of Nigeria and her citizens.