Contrary to the Federal Government’s position on winning the fight against corruption, Nigeria has been ranked the 35th most corrupt country in the world, according to the 2012 report by Transparency International on global corruption.
In the report released today, Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to clinch the 139th position out of the 176 countries surveyed for the report. It shared that position with Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan while Countries such as Togo, Mali, Niger and Benin fared better than Nigeria.
Last year’s report placed Nigeria 143rd, making it the 37th most corrupt country. However, when compared with this year’s result, it is difficult to say whether Nigeria has recorded any significant improvement.
According to the report, this year’s index ranks 176 countries/territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The index draws on 13 surveys covering expert assessments and surveys of business people.
The Corruption Perceptions Index is the leading indicator of public sector corruption, offering a yearly snapshot of the relative degree of the corruption problem by ranking countries from all over the globe.
The organization has urged governments to integrate anti-corruption actions into all aspects of decision-making and prioritize better rules on political financing, make public spending and contracting more transparent, and make public bodies more accountable.
