“Transparency International’s corruption rating not setback, call to work harder” – Prof Osinbajo
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday took an optimistic look at the poor rating of Nigeria on the recently-released Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2017.
He said in Abuja that the rating was not a setback for Nigeria, but an encouragement for the country to work harder and close its ranks.
The Transparency International’s report released on February 21, scored Nigeria 27 per cent and ranked it 148th out of the 180 countries assessed.
The organisation said Nigeria’s latest result was worse than that of 2016 wherein the country was ranked 136th with a score of 28 per cent.
In the 2017 rankings, Nigeria shares the 148th spot with Comoros and Guinea.
But the Vice-President said Nigeria’s declined rating on the Transparency International’s CPI was because the country’s score slumped on “just one out of the nine internationally-recognised indexes” used by the organisation.
He said while the index scored Nigeria low on the Economist Intelligence Unit Country Risk Service, with a decline from 37 points to 20 points, the country either remained stable or improved on its scores for all the other eight indexes used in the CPI ranking.
Osinbajo said this at a one-day ‘Dialogue of Organs of Government on Reform of Justice Sector and Campaign Against Corruption’ which held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday.
The Vice-President was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff, State House, Mr. Ade Ipaye, at the event, which was co-organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Speaking at the event, various representatives of the three arms of government pledged to collaborate with one another in the fight against corruption. – Punch