TI Ranking, Testimony Of Jonathan’s Corruption Fight – Presidency The latest report by Transparency International (TI) which ranked Nigeria 136th among countries on the list of its corruption perception index (CPI) is a testimony of President Goodluck Jonathan’s determination in tackling corruption head on, the presidency said yesterday. According to TI’s CPI which was released last Wednesday, out of 174 countries evaluated for corruption, Nigeria ranked 136th alongside Russia, Cameroon, Iran, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon as the least transparent. Some analysts had claimed that TI’s ranking showed that Nigeria only performed marginally better than its 2013 rating, since it meant that the six countries, Nigeria inclusive are the 15th most corrupt in the world. But senior special assistant to the president on public affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe argued that TI’s latest ranking was proof that Jonathan’s effort in the fight against corruption was yielding positive results. In a statement he issued yesterday, Okupe said it was not in doubt that since Jonathan came on board as president, “the fight against corruption has been taken several notches higher. “Unlike any previous administration in the country‘s history, the present administration has instituted institutional reforms aimed at giving fillip to the anti- corruption war”, he added. Okupe named the agriculture sector as one of the major areas the anti corruption war had been visible, saying the administration’s carefully articulated and executed Agricultural Transformation Agenda(ATA) ended forty years of corruption in the distribution of fertilizers to farmers. He said the same thing was applicable to the reforms in ports where the Jonathan administration “successfully plugged many loopholes which some corrupt officials had exploited to delay genuine business transactions and harm the Nigerian economy. “The old corrupt system of government direct procurement and distribution of fertiliser as well as the operations in the various ports and government agencies contributed in no small measure to the negative rating of Nigeria by the Transparency International and other global watchdogs”, the presidential aide noted. He observed that, as a result of President Jonathan’s determination to tackle corruption head on, the federal government took “some other far reaching steps like the cleaning up of the import waiver system, which before his coming was fraught with corruption, nepotism, arbitrariness and other irregularities. “As a result of this, billions of Naira were lost to the economy as the real business people failed to benefit”. The statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday further stated: “While it is important for suspects involved in corruption cases to be tried and if found guilty sent to jail, what is more important is for the development of mechanisms, the institution of structures and the enactment of policies that would plug loopholes and foster transparency such that the propensity for corruption is made more difficult and eliminated completely. “This is what the Jonathan administration has been doing and this is the template adopted by countries like Denmark and New Zealand, which are at the top of the TI index. Like New Zealand, the Jonathan administration is adroitly deploying Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to tackle corruption head on. “Key reforms instituted by the administration like the electronic payment system and the IPPS system have helped reduce corruption in the system. Of particular importance is the fact that through these institutional reforms, the Federal Government has been able to weed out as many as 50,000 ghost workers and saved the country billions of naira in the process.” remarkable that it took the Electronic Wallet (E-Wallet) scheme to end four decades of corruption in the country. Such is the impact of the E-Wallet scheme that the African Union this year adopted the model to help African countries end corruption in the distribution of fertilizer in their countries”. Okupe further noted that another major step taken by President Jonathan in his fight against corruption, aside the critical reforms, was the signing into law the Freedom of Information (FoI), even as he said, before the Act was signed by the resident, the conduct of government business in many sectors was shrouded in utmost secrecy. He said, “today things are different as government officials mindful of the fact that Nigerian citizens can under the Act seek and obtain information about their activities, operate within the rules. “There is no doubt that the FOI Act has reduced the propensity for corruption among public officials as attested to by our improved rating in the latest Transparency International report”. He noted that the Jonathan administration in the privatization of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) carried out the most efficient and transparent privatization exercise in the history of the country. “That exercise eliminated every avenue for corruption and was globally acclaimed by global financial institutions”, Okupe added, just as he assured that Jonathan will not relent “in his efforts to ensure that this all important war against the deadly virus of corruption is totally won in all facets of our National life in due course”.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 01:24:27 +0000
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