APC, LP trade words over Nigeria’s new corruption ranking
The ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition Labour Party have clashed over Nigeria’s latest ranking as the 36th most corrupt country in the world.
In its 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index released on Tuesday, Transparency International placed Nigeria in the 36th position on the global corruption index, alongside Uganda, Mexico, Madagascar, Iraq, and Cameroon, with a total score of 26 points.
Denmark was rated the least corrupt country with 90 points. Finland and Singapore followed in second and third place with 88 and 84 points, respectively. Cape Verde ranked as the least corrupt African country, placing 35th with 62 points. South Sudan, Somalia, and Venezuela were ranked as the most corrupt countries in the world.
Speaking on the global findings, Transparency International Chair, Francois Valeria, said: “The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that corruption is a dangerous problem in every part of the world, but change for the better is happening in many countries.”
Valeria also noted that corruption remains a major threat to climate action and that 148 countries have either stagnated or worsened in corruption levels since 2012.
Reacting to the ranking, Labour Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, accused the APC-led government of failing to combat corruption.
“Corruption under the APC government has become endemic. Under the PDP, it was bad, but it has worsened under this government.”
Ifoh criticised the government’s anti-corruption agencies, arguing that they were more focused on chasing internet fraudsters while neglecting systemic corruption in the bureaucracy.
“The whistleblowing policy introduced by the previous government has completely died. We have not seen any major political office holder tried for corruption. Nothing has come out of the investigation into the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs.”
But dismissing the allegations, APC’s Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, argued that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had introduced key reforms to tackle corruption.
“The government is working hard to stem corruption by creating an environment that eliminates it. One of these efforts is tax reform.”
Duru also highlighted direct funding for local governments, aimed at ensuring financial accountability at the grassroots level.
“The government is ensuring that governance reaches the people through the direct release of funding to local governments so they can account for the money they receive.”
Regarding Transparency International’s methodology, Duru stated that the Nigerian government was not aware of the data sources used in the ranking.
“We don’t know the case studies they used, so we won’t enter into a debate over their findings. However, in another year or so, the government’s anti-corruption efforts will become more evident.”
