According to Transparency International, Nigeria has slipped five places on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2021. (TI).
In the 2021 index, Nigeria received a score of 24 out of 100.
Nigeria is now ranked 154th out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Edition for 2021, down from 149th in the previous index.
The CPI is a metric developed by TI to assess the amount of corruption in various nations’ systems. A country’s highest score is 100 points, while its lowest score is zero. The worst-performing countries have a score of zero, while the best-performing countries have a score of 100.
Nigeria is the second most corrupt country in West Africa, behind Guinea, which is placed 150 on the worldwide index.
While the Nigerian administration has constantly maintained that corruption is being reduced, the rating might indicate that corruption is worsening in the country.
Nigeria has been on a downward spiral on the TI’s CPI rating for the second year in a row, with the country’s score dropping from 26 in 2019 to 25 in 2020, and then to 24 in the most recent 2021 report.
During the campaigns for President Muhammadu Buhari’s first election in 2014, the CPI was one of the data points that he and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), used to push their anti-corruption agenda against former governments of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
However, after Buhari’s election as president, the Nigerian government has become one of the index’s most vocal detractors, citing the index’s unfavorable scores.
In 2021, Nigeria’s minister of communications and culture, Lai Mohammed, stated the index “does not represent the country’s remarkable advances in its battle against corruption, particularly in the public sector.”
Transparency International released a “sensational and unjustified rating on Nigeria and the battle against corruption,” according to Garba Shehu, a spokesman for Buhari.
“The Buhari government deserves credit for reducing corruption in the public sector, anti-corruption agencies would continue to strongly support prevention, enforcement, public education, and enlightenment initiatives.” He said.
While the president’s spokesperson stated that the “administration is willing to learn from mistakes and make changes, this story is not an accurate picture of the events on the ground.”
“Despite several pledges, 131 nations have achieved no major progress against corruption in the previous decade,” according to Transparency International’s 2021 report.
“The worldwide average remains constant for the ninth year in a row, at barely 43 out of a potential 100 points,” according to Transparency International’s study.
