By Henry Uche, Lagos
Experts across the board have said that the latest report by Transparency International (TI) on Nigeria’s ranking on corruption index is precarious for investment. This comes as reactions continue to trail the report and its implications for the Nigerian economy and Nigeria’s credit rating globally.
Among whom is the CEO of Convention On Business Integrity, Soji Apampa, who said TI report is not new to Nigerians hence the futility of defending the report. The report ranks Nigeria 149 /180 countries globally and second most corrupt countries in Africa after Guinea Bissau.
Apampa, who spoke on Channels TV business morning, said that the methodology used by TI was the same hence the indicators for Nigeria’s sliding low are conspicuous, saying that if the methodology was flawed as some analysts have alleged, then the entire Methodology was flawed equally for all countries, hence Nigeria is no exception.
He noted that the report sheet shows that there are some things Nigeria is doing which other countries are not doing and vice versa. ‘We should pay adequate attention to issues that matter most. Instead of coming up with a defence mechanism. The figures are not absolute, but an indicator that all may not be well,’ he said.
‘The issues TI pointed out are true, none is new to us, we have seen it all, the shabby distribution of palliative, all the money raised and announced in response to COVID-19, and other issues like the report that oxygen meant for COVID-19 patients are traded in the illegal market are clear proofs that things are not just work well here. We need to start dealing with fundamental issues,’ he stated.
He called on the federal government to do more to build integrity, noting that fighting corruption without building integrity systems/structures would end in futility, asserting that an Instituted integrity framework and system would compel people to do the right thing from the beginning of every transaction both within and outside the country.
