Nigeria remains one of the countries with the perceived highest corruption in the world despite claims by the Federal Government that it is dealing with the menace according to transparency international (TI)
The 2018 Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International on Tuesday ranked Nigeria 144, tied with Kenya, Mauritania, Comoros and Guatemala out of the 180 countries surveyed and ranked by the Berlin-based anti-corruption group.
Nigeria moved four places up the ladder – from 148 out of 180 countries in the 2017 to 144 out of 180 countries in 2018.
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, an intermediary of TI in Nigeria, Musa Rafsanjani, told journalists that factors such as inflated contract costs, abuse of security votes, impunity and the government’s recalcitrance to try certain corrupt persons affected the country in the global rankings.
“Nigeria scored 27 out of 100 points in the 2018 CPI, maintaining the same score as in the 2017 CPI,” Rafsanjani said.
He added, “If Nigeria’s democracy is to be the preserved, the origins of huge assets of Nigerian real owners needed be disclosed.”
Rafsanjani said although Nigeria moved up four places in the rankings, it only indicated that four other countries recorded lower scores in 2018.
He added that despite its current position, “Nigeria is still perceived as a highly corrupt nation.”
Rafsanjani accused the FG of pretending not to be aware of money-laundering crimes and tax evasion in the country.
TI chief said the FG had failed to investigate and prosecute individuals and companies involved in money laundering and tax evasion.