Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Buhari government to see Nigeria’s ranking on the Corruption Perception Index as a wake up call to renew efforts against grand and petty corruption.
The index, published last week by Transparency International, showed prception of corruption has worsened between 2016 and 2017 under President Muhammadu Buhari.
The administration criticised the report as fiction.
SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale said, the findings correspond substantially with the reality of impunity of perpetrators, as demonstrated by the low conviction rate, the authorities’ slowness to adopt and implement critical reforms, appearance of selectivity in the anti-corruption fight, apparent complicity of key officials and cover-up, as well as unaddressed alleged corruption against several state governors.
“The authorities should take the report seriously and use it as an opportunity to raise their game in their efforts to rid our country of corruption and underdevelopment,” he said in a statement.
“The government should make no mistake about this: Nigerians know corruption when they see it. Rather than simply criticising TI as publishing fiction or going after its board members, the government should accept the fact that its oft-expressed commitment to fight corruption has not gone to plan.”
