• The Membership Club
  • #EndSARS Dashboard
  • PT Hausa
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Store
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Premium Times Nigeria
  • Home
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Special Reports and Investigations
      • Health Specials
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects & Partnerships
    • AUN-PT Data Hub
    • #EndSARS Dashboard
    • Parliament Watch
    • #PandoraPapers
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
  • Home
  • Gender
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Opinion
  • Health
    • News Reports
    • Special Reports and Investigations
      • Health Specials
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Features and Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • Projects & Partnerships
    • AUN-PT Data Hub
    • #EndSARS Dashboard
    • Parliament Watch
    • #PandoraPapers
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • AGAHRIN
Premium Times Nigeria
BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad BUA Group Ad
President Muhammadu Buhari [Photo: Presidency]

President Muhammadu Buhari [Photo: Presidency]

EXPLAINER: How Transparency International assessed Nigeria’s corruption level

byYusuf Akinpelu
January 28, 2020
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0

Not only has Nigeria slipped from 144th to 146th on the pecking order of the 2019 Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, the country fell by 26 points, a minus of one when compared to its score in 2018.

According to the global anti-corruption watchdog’s latest index, Nigeria’s latest ranking of 146 out of the 180 countries that were surveyed worldwide shows that its score of 26 is way below the global average of 43 and the 2019 average score of 32 for the sub-Saharan Africa region.

Indeed, Nigeria is ranked 32 out of 49 countries in the sub-region.

In the entire West African sub-region, Nigeria is ranked higher than only Guinea Bissau whose score is 18.

‘Shots fired’

The report of ranking which was released on Thursday has drawn the ire of authorities in the country. The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the anti-graft agency, EFCC, have condemned the report, saying TI was obvlivious of the “achievements” of the Buhari-adminstration in its resolve to tackle corruption, one of its three cardinal campaign promises.

Mr Malami, during an interview on Channels Television’s LunchTime Politics, on Thursday, said “the facts on the ground do not correlate with the information dished out by the group”.

“In terms of the fight against corruption, we have been doing more, we have done more, and we will continue to do more out of inherent conviction and desire on our part to fight against corruption devoid of any extraneous considerations relating to the rating by Transparency International,” Mr Malami argued.

On its part, the anti-graft agency EFCC in a communique on the same day, described the report as baseless and appalling.

Atiku-Okowa AD

“The claim and inference by TI that Nigeria ranks the fourth most corrupt country in West Africa is totally unacceptable, as it is evidently not supported by any empirical data, especially when placed side-by-side with the remarkable achievements of the Commission in the past years,” the EFCC said.

EFCC’s sister anti-graft agency, ICPC, too has faulted the report. The Presidency also tried to ridicule the report, saying it was not based on “facts”, but on perception and hearsay.

But what exactly does it mean for a country to ranked high or low on the index?

‘Perception of corruption, not corruption itself’

Established in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is Transparency International’s flagship research product with which it measures the glimpse of perceived corruption in the public sector of surveyed countries.

NAHCON State AD NAHCON Tour Operator AD NAHCON Cargo Operator AD

Kogi AD

TEXEM Advert

Due to the fact that “there is no meaningful way to assess absolute levels of corruption in countries or territories on the basis of hard empirical data,” CPI reflects how a country is perceived corrupt; it doesn’t measure corruption in the real sense of the word.

On its frequently asked questions page, the organisation says it doesn’t rely on reported cases of prosecutions or scandals due to bribery and other crimes as they only show how effective prosecutors, the courts or the media are in investigating and exposing corruption in a country.

Hence, it submits, “capturing perceptions of corruption of those in a position to offer assessments of public sector corruption is the most reliable method of comparing relative corruption levels across countries.”

Dangote adbanner 728x90_2 (1)

Auwal Rafsanjani, Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a subsidiary of Transparency International in Nigeria, told PREMIUM TIMES that the index does not consider prosecutions made by the EFCC or ICPC.

He explained that, instead, “it is about the perception of Nigerians on the Immigration (Service), the Custom, the National Assembly, the judiciary, ease of doing business, getting employment, gaining admission.”

He added that the index examined the lack of compliance for the rule of law, public procurement and disregard for extant law in the country, especially the FOI.

Until it revised its methodology to allow for comparison of scores from one year to the next using scale 0-100 in 2012, countries were ranked on the basis of scores between 0-10.

Methodology

For Nigeria, the CPI 2019 relies on nine different data sources from different institutions that capture perceptions of corruption within the past two years.

These institutions include: African Development Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment; Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index; Economist Intelligence Unit Country Ratings; Global Insight Country Risk Guide.

READ ALSO: Nigeria recovers over N200 billion, convicts 890 people in 2019 anti-corruption war – Officials

Others are: PRS International Country Risk Guide; World Economic Forum Economic Opinion Survey; World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA); World Justice Project Rule of Law Index; and varieties of Democracy projects.

While ranking of countries is relative to the performance of other countries, the index is based on the results of surveys from these institutions. Countries are scored from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Nigeria’s performance over the years

Over the last decade, Nigeria has scored relatively low on the ranking. Between 2011 till date, Nigeria’s score has varied from 24 to 28 per cent and its ranking from 136th to 148th.

Since 2012 when the scale of 100 was first used, 2016 was Nigeria’s relatively best year.

The country had a score of 28 and ranked 136 out of the 176 countries surveyed. With a score of 25, 2013 was perceived the country’s most corrupt year, when it ranked 144 out of 177 other countries.

What next

The Chairman, Network Against Corruption, Olanrewaju Suraj, said “perception will continue to be perception but it can be real or not”.

He explained that the private sector is not covered by the ranking, and it means it left out a major cycle for corruption.

He added that “the best that can be done is for the government to take the rating on face level and improve on some of the issues raised in the report.”

“It is not enough to say Nigeria is corrupt. Corruption is all over the world. But what stands every country out is the ability of the state to bring people to book,” Mr Suraj said.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Print



Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility

Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.

For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.

By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.

Donate



TEXT AD: Call Willie - +2348098788999






PT Mag Campaign AD

Previous Post

Days after Supreme Court victory, Kano emirs, Oba of Benin, visit Ganduje

Next Post

Amotekun: South-west has no plans to secede – Fayemi

Yusuf Akinpelu

Yusuf Akinpelu

Yusuf Akinpelu is PREMIUM TIMES' Head of Data Desk. Prior to this, he covered the National Assembly and fact-checked for Dubawa. He is a graduate of Statistics from the University of Ibadan. He has a penchant for books, debates, and wildlife.

More News

APC Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and campaign team in Akwa Ibom

Tinubu campaigns in Akwa Ibom, vows to create massive employment for Nigerians

January 30, 2023

ECOWAS Court decries poor enforcement of its decisions

January 30, 2023
EFCC Operatives

EFCC arrests hoarders of new naira notes

January 30, 2023
New Naira Notes

We have old Naira notes, what do we do with them – Nigerians in Diaspora

January 30, 2023
FILE: INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. Photo; FACBOOK/INECNIGERIA

INEC investigates viral video of extortion during PVCs collection

January 30, 2023
Debt Management Office (DMO) boss, Patience Oniha. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official Web page of DMO] Eurobonds

Nigeria’s public debt rose to N44.06trn in Q3 2022

January 30, 2023
Leave Comment

Our Digital Network

  • PT Hausa
  • Election Centre
  • Human Trafficking Investigation
  • Centre for Investigative Journalism
  • National Conference
  • Press Attack Tracker
  • PT Academy
  • Dubawa
  • LeaksNG
  • Campus Reporter

Resources

  • Oil & Gas Facts
  • List of Universities in Nigeria
  • LIST: Federal Unity Colleges in Nigeria
  • NYSC Orientation Camps in Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s Federal/States’ Budgets since 2005
  • Malabu Scandal Thread
  • World Cup 2018
  • Panama Papers Game
  • Our Digital Network
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Data & Infographics
  • DONATE

All content is Copyrighted © 2022 The Premium Times, Nigeria

No Result
View All Result
  • Digital Store
  • Home
  • News
    • Headline Stories
    • Top News
    • More News
    • Foreign
  • Investigations
  • Gender
  • Business
    • News Reports
    • Financial Inclusion
    • Analysis and Data
    • Business Specials
    • Opinion
    • Oil/Gas Reports
      • FAAC Reports
      • Revenue
  • Health
    • COVID-19
    • News Reports
    • Investigations
    • Data and Infographics
    • Health Specials
    • Features
    • Events
    • Primary Health Tracker
  • Agriculture
    • News Report
    • Research & Innovation
    • Data & Infographics
    • Special Reports/Investigations
    • Investigations
    • Interviews
    • Multimedia
  • Arts/Life
    • Arts/Books
    • Kannywood
    • Lifestyle
    • Music
    • Nollywood
    • Travel
  • Sports
    • Football
    • More Sports News
    • Sports Features
  • #EndSARS Dashboard
  • AUN-PT Data Hub
  • Projects
    • Panama Papers
    • Paradise Papers
    • Parliament Watch
    • AGAHRIN
  • Opinion
  • PT Hausa
  • The Membership Club
  • DONATE
  • About Us
  • Advert Rates
  • Dubawa NG
  • Careers
  • Contact Us

All content is Copyrighted © 2022 The Premium Times, Nigeria