AND THE 2ND MOST CORRUPT COUNTRY IN WEST AFRICA IS.............. NIGERIA

AND THE 2ND MOST CORRUPT COUNTRY IN WEST AFRICA IS.............. NIGERIA

Nigeria has been rated the second most corrupt country in West Africa and the 35th most corrupt in the world.

Transparency International, a global corruption watchdog, released its annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) yesterday, placing Nigeria on the 139th spot out of 176 countries surveyed.

All West African countries except for Guinea Bissau which placed 150th making it the 26th most corrupt country in the world, fared better than Nigeria, which prides itself as the giant of Africa.

Nigeria shares the same position with Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan.

This year’s index ranks 176 countries/territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, TI explained in the report.

Cape Verde is the least corrupt country in West Africa as it was ranked 39th on the index. Ghana is ranked 64th, Liberia 75th, Burkina Faso 83rd, Senegal and Benin 94th, Mali and Gambia 105th, Guinea 113th, Mauritania and Sierra Leone 123rd and Togo 128th.

The index draws on 13 surveys covering expert assessments and surveys of businesspeople.

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.

It is hard to say whether Nigeria has improved since 2011 when it was ranked 39th most corrupt country because 182 countries where surveyed then, six more than this year’s.

In 1996, 1997 and 2000 Nigeria was ranked the most corrupt of the countries surveyed.

Nigeria was second-to-the-last-position in 4 different years: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and third-to-the-last in 2004.

The country’s most improved rating was in 2008 when it ranked 66th out of the 121 countries surveyed.

The organization said government should integrate anti-corruption actions into all aspects of decision-making.

Reacting to the report, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has said Nigerian should not lose hope in its fight against corruption.

ICPC media consultant Folu Olamiti said, “With the emergence of new administration, we are hopeful that things would be better in Nigeria in 2013.”

Speaking for anti- poverty association, Dr. Husaini Abdu, told the told BBC Hausa Service that he was not surprised with the report, saying anti-corruption agencies in the country lacked the zeal to fight corruption.