By Omotilewa Quadri
The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, on Wednesday criticised Transparency International’s ranking of Nigeria in its latest Corruption Perception Index.
Speaking to journalists at the Commission’s new headquarters, Magu said while he was worried by the ranking, he remained undeterred in his anti-corruption fight.
“We will continue to fight corruption, it (ranking)) doesn’t matter. There’s a lot of politics in this indices, I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it’s right,” Magu said.
Nigeria, he argued, has done “very well” in the fight against corruption.
“You are in this country, would you honestly say the situation is the same 12 years back? So I don’t believe in this Transparency Index, but we are doing everything possible to improve on our rating next year,” the EFCC chairman further sated.
The latest Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International earlier this year showed that corruption in Nigeria worsened between 2016 and 2017.
The report, which ranked Nigeria 148th out of 180 countries, showed a slight deterioration in the perception of corruption in public administration in Nigeria compared to 2016 when the country was ranked 136th.
The Presidency disagreed with the report, describing the ranking as “fiction” but Vice President Yemi Osinbajo welcomed it, describing it as a catalyst for Nigeria to do better in its fight against corruption rather than a setback.
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