The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offence Commission (ICPC) has raised alarm over the prevalence of corruption, asserting that 42% of high-ranking positions within the three arms of government and the private sector have been plagued by corruption between 2022 and 2023.
Speaking at the validation meeting of the Nigeria Corruption Index (NCI) Survey in Abuja, the Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, Prof. Tunde Babawale, highlighted that the findings revealed a disturbingly high level of corruption across the Legislature, Judiciary, Executive arms of government, and the private sector.
“Although at the level of the state, the score differs from one state to the other, but the bottom line is that there is an overall score that we found – over 42% in our own scale is highly corrupt for the entire country”, Babawale emphasised.
He underscored the urgency for a substantial shift in attitudes toward corruption, stressing that tolerance for corrupt practices had become widespread. Babawale urged the need to cultivate a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption, particularly among the youth and society at large.
“The details of the NCI reveal a very grim picture of our institutions, highlighting the urgent need for a change in our approach to tackling corruption”, Babawale stated.
The NCI survey aimed to examine grand corruption, particularly within high-ranking government positions and the private sector. Babawale pointed out that the objective was to evaluate the impact of grand corruption on society and offer recommendations for anti-corruption policies.
Highlighting some findings, Babawale expressed concerns about how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was manipulated to perpetuate corruption between the private and public sectors.
Lead Researcher on the Nigeria Corruption Index (NCI) project“, Prof. Elijah Okebukola, echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing that the survey indicated a pervasive presence of corruption across various sectors, including different levels of government and within the three arms of Government.
“What the index does is that, it measures corruption at different levels, and our findings reveal a disturbingly high level of corruption across various sectors”, Okebukola stressed.
