NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari had been urged to adopt new strategies in the fight against corruption.
Civil society organisations, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and CLEEN Foundation, made the call on Wednesday during an anti-corruption radio program, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG).
Transparency International (TI) ranked Nigeria 154 out of180 countries in its latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report for 2021, placing Nigeria as the second most corrupt nation in West Africa.
Speaking during the radio programme, CISLAC Program Officer Samuel Asimi said Buhari’s government could only advance the fight against corruption by urgently strengthening legal frameworks on whistleblowing, proceeds of crime and audit; as well as fortifying the anti-graft agencies.
Asimi, however, backed Nigeria’s current CPI rating, saying it was fair given the prevalence of corruption in the public sector.
He also stressed the need for members of the National Assembly to adequately play their constitutional role in tackling corruption in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the government.
Asimi said, “We need legal frameworks, the government needs to beef up a legal framework that should focus on whistleblower, proceeds of crime.
“Secondly, financial institutions and the anti-graft agencies should work together in terms of the ‘Know Your Customer Policy’ customer due diligence policies and the rest.”
Calling on the National Assembly to work on the audit report, Asimi said MDAs that have not submitted their audit reports should do well to comply.
He also advocated coordination among anti-graft agencies.
“It is also important for the government to recognise the freedom and rights of anti-corruption and human rights defenders, attempts to shrink the civic space should be discouraged, and freedom of individuals should be upheld,” Asimi added.
According to Asimi, factors responsible for Nigeria’s latest poor corruption rankings include “public sector corruption, bribery, nepotism, the criminal justice system, state capture, excessive red tapes, effective justice system, and many other corruption-related issues”.
Also contributing, Media and Communications Officer at CLEEN Foundation Anna White-Agbo stated that the anti-corruption strategies of the current administration were not working.
She observed that Nigeria’s corruption ranking was a true reflection of the state of corruption in the country.
White-Agbo also tasked the government to employ a different strategy to fight corruption or risk worse corruption perception ranking in future.
On the need to strengthen anti-graft agencies to fight corruption, White-Agbo called for the absolute independence of anti-graft agencies from political influence.
“The anti-graft agencies are supposed to be independent of the politics or politicking in Nigeria; I feel like there is a lot of influence coming from all of these angles from people in power, from politicians and the rest of them. They need to be left alone to do the work,” she said.
White-Agbo expressed her doubts in the ability of the government to fight corruption adequately and called on citizens to look inward and play their part in the anti-corruption fight.
“This government came in heavy on corruption, but I do not believe that whatever strategies they have employed are working, the reason being that we have so many issues of accountability and transparency.”
Programme Manager of PRIMORG Adaobi Obiabunmuo said all efforts to get Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Ajuri Ngelale, to join the radio program proved abortive.
The ICIR reported that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) during a two-day training workshop for journalists rejected TI’s latest ranking for Nigeria.
The ICPC faulted Nigeria’s rating as the second most corrupt country in West Africa.
In the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index released by TI, Nigeria dropped five places, scoring 24 out of 100 points.
The Media Consultant to the ICPC chairman Oluyinka Akintunde said the TI ranking was based on outdated data sources.
According to him, only five out of the 13 data sources used by TI were current, while eight others were based on 2017, 2018 and 2019, which were also used in previous years without taking cognisance of the actions or new developments in the country.
Public Conscience, a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program, is supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
A reporter with the ICIR
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