Magu faults TI’s corruption report on Nigeria

ECONOMIC and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) acting Chairman Mr. Ibrahim Magu has faulted the low rating of Nigeria by the Transparency International (TI) in the global corruption perception Index.

In an interactive session with a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) and the media in Enugu at the EFCC Zonal office at the weekend, Magu insisted that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and the EFCC have recorded a lot in the fight against corruption more than ever before.

TI had in its 2017 ranking placed Nigeria 12 points lower than previous year, at 148 over 180, as against 136 over 180 in 2016.

Reacting to a question regarding the rating, the EFCC Chairman said Nigeria met all the requirements as contained in the nine-point protocol, but only scored low in one point out of the nine required. He did not mention the one.

Magu said: “We have met almost every demand. So, it’s corruption fighting back. You will see them carrying a lot of false information, buying all the media organisations. I don’t believe in that TI rating. I don’t believe it’s real because from what we have done, we have worked very hard and we have recorded a lot of successes that had never been recorded before in this country; it has never been done so well. I’m not giving the credit for myself, okay; we have never done so well like this before.

“When you go through this list, you will see how they even arrived at the perception; if you go from these (nine) variables, all other variables minus one, the rating of Nigeria compared to 2016 has increased, the only last variable which they gave us low mark is not issue of corruption.”

He, however, said the commission would do everything possible to improve the rating and “not leave it to corruption fighting back”.

Magu, who noted that he was on a week-long working visit to Enugu and Anambra states, solicited the cooperation of civil society groups, the media and Nigerians in the fight against corruption, stressing that EFCC cannot do it alone.

The leader of the Civil Society Coalition, Mr. Igboke Onyebuchi expressed gratitude to the EFCC boss for agreeing to meet and interact with the civil society groups.

 

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