The federal government has claimed that the recent Transparency International report was biased as it did not capture the President Muhammadu Buhari administration consistent fight against graft.
Aso Rock has renounced the report as fiction geared towards embarrassing the government.
The report ranks Nigeria 148 out of 180 countries assessed in 2017 on the perception of corruption in the annual Corruption Perception Index, CPI.
However, the TI report indicated clearly that in all of the nine categories of the evaluation, Nigeria fell back in only one category, performing slightly better in some and maintaining stability in others.
The index, published last week Wednesday, showed that out of 100 points signalling maximum transparency and no corruption, Nigeria scored 27 points.
Presidency said an internal government review of the report indicated that, although TI gave Nigeria an overall lower ranking, the country did well in majority of the areas reviewed by TI, and remained stable in others, but fell back in only one aspect.
: “In the 2016 Index, the country was ranked 136th out of 176 countries with a score of 28. Nigeria’s score also slightly improved from 26 to 28 between 2015 and 2016. “It must also be pointed out that compared to the 2016 Index, Nigeria either improved or remained stable in all, but one of the Indexes,” the source said.
“Nigeria improved significantly in key indexes between 2016 and 2017: the Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index, a 5-point improvement; African Development Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, a 2-point improvement; a 1-point improvement in the World Justice Project Rule of law Index Expert Survey and World Economic Forum Executive Opinion respectively.
“In the 2016 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, Nigeria and Burkina Faso were the biggest movers among the 18 countries indexed in the region, climbing 11 and 10 spots respectively.
“Nigeria remained stable in the following indexes: World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment, Global Insight Country Risk Ratings; PRS Group International Country Risk Guide and Varieties of Democracy Project.
“The only Index the country fell short was in the Economic Intelligence Unit Country Risk Service, on which basis is the sole reason for Nigeria’s decline in the overall Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index of 2017.
“The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index evaluates the quality of democracy, a market economy and political management in 129 developing and transition countries, while the African Development Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment measures the capacity of a country to support sustainable growth, poverty reduction, and the effective use of development assistance with a particular focus on the assessment of key elements that are within the country’s control.
According to the Aso Rock source, with hundreds of convictions secured by the EFCC alone in 2016 and 2017, and assets worth billions of Naira recovered, it is evident that the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) under the Buhari administration has made significant strides in the fight against corruption.
“The administration believes in the rule of law and the sanctity of the judiciary in ensuring that these cases are duly prosecuted.”
The report also showed that in 2013 Nigeria scored 25, but jumped to 28 in 2016, a year after the Buhari Administration took office.