Transparency International’s latest corruption ranking data has been rejected by the Federal Government.
Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, rejected the data while speaking to State House Correspondents following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mohammed stated that the fight against corruption was not undertaken to impress civil society organizations, Transparency International, or any other anti-corruption watchdog.
It stated that the government was unconcerned about the latest TI rating because it had reduced corruption to a bare minimum, adding that its anti-corruption drive was intended to ensure growth across all sectors of the nation’s economy.
He said:
We are not fighting corruption because we want to impress Transparency International or any organisation whatsoever.
We’re fighting corruption because we believe if we do not fight corruption, there’ll be no growth either in terms of the economy or even politics.
Therefore, what we do and what we’re putting in place to fight corruption is not because we want to be rated by anybody.
He questioned the template used for the survey saying;
Whatever template they’re using is clearly oblivious of what this administration is doing to fight corruption.
Fighting corruption is not just by how many people you have arrested. How many people have you tried? How many people have you convicted?
So, we are not worried or bothered about the rating of Transparency International because we know that everything we do is to ensure that we fight corruption the best way we know how to do it.
If they are not seeing this, then I think they have to change their template. But again, we’re not fighting corruption to impress them.
Mohammed argued that the regime’s handling of the Abacha loot and the efforts of anti-graft agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have made corruption difficult.
He said;
To me, this is one example of how to fight corruption—an example of how to ensure that people do not steal what has been recovered again.
I make proud to say that we have been more proactive in fighting corruption and people are not willing to see what we have put in place to fight corruption.
Again, the courage of this administration even to expose high-ranking officials of the administration who have run afoul of the law is evidence of our determination and courage to fight corruption.
WITHIN NIGERIA reported that the organization’s most recent corruption ranking data showed Nigeria dropping to 150th out of 180 countries.
According to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which was published on the global movement’s official website on Tuesday, most countries around the world are failing to combat corruption.
A total of 180 countries and territories were ranked based on their perceived levels of public sector corruption, and Nigeria appeared to have failed yet again under President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership.
According to the report, only 12 countries in Africa are more corrupt than Nigeria, with Nigeria ranking 149th out of 180 countries at the time.
However, in its most recent report, Nigeria received 24 points out of a possible 100, placing it 150th out of 180 countries. The CPI is TI’s tool for measuring the levels of corruption in various countries’ systems around the world.
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