Nigeria has shown improvement in the fight against corruption, rising five places to rank 145 out of 180 countries in the 2023 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), as revealed by Transparency International Nigeria. The country scored 25 out of 100 points, indicating a perceived decrease in public sector corruption compared to its previous score of 24 in the 2022 CPI.
Under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, the 2023 CPI marks the first index released during his presidency. Nigeria’s upward shift from the 150th position in 2022 suggests a positive trend in combating corruption, although challenges persist.
The Corruption Perception Index measures the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (least corrupt perception). Nigeria’s lowest CPI score was recorded in 1996 at 6.90, while its highest was 28 in 2016 during the first year of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
During the official launch of the CPI in Abuja on Tuesday, Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, emphasized that despite the progress, Nigeria still has work to do at both national and regional levels.
“This shows that it is a problem that we have both in the country and at the regional level and that we have to wake up to ensure that we do everything possible to defeat corruption and corrupt practices. You can see many reasons why these are happening, political corruption is on the increase, and when you loot the nation, and you are rewarded with the appointment, you will continue to do business as usual. So, at both national and regional levels, we have a lot of work to do to create a conducive atmosphere where development can thrive, and where democracy and electoral transparency can happen”, he said.
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