Transparency International has released Corruption Perception Index for 2017 with Nigeria dropping 12 places to 148. This is worse than the country’s position of 136 out of `80 countries it was ranked in 2016.
This is coming even as President Muhammadu Buhari is channelling efforts towards fighting corruption in the country.
Nigeria scored 27 per cent and is on 148th spot with Cosmoros and Guinea. Botswana was ranked the least corrupt country in Africa with 61 per cent and occupies 34th position. Other African countries ranked above Nigeria include: Botswana, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Namibia, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Lesotho, Tunisia, Ghana, Morocco, Benin, Swaziland, Gambia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Niger, Egypt, Gabon, Togo, Djibouti, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Mauritania. According to Transparency International, corruption has increased globally and much is not done to curb it.
It said: “This year’s Corruption Perceptions Index highlights that the majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption, while further analysis shows journalists and activists in corrupt countries risking their lives every day in an effort to speak out.
“The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. “This year, the index found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43.
Unfortunately, compared to recent years, this poor performance is nothing new.” New Zealand was ranked first position with a score of 89 per cent. Other countries in the top 10 are: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, Canada, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The 10 bottom ranked countries are: Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, North Korea Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia Bottom ranked countries Meanwhile, Azubuike Ihejirika, former Chief of Army Staff, was grilled by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over his alleged involvement in the $2.1 billion arms procurement scandal, Premium Times reports. The ex army chief was reportedly ushered into an interrogation room at the headquarters of the anti-graft agency after arriving at 11am on Wednesday, February 21.
