Transparency International (TI) released its 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index on Tuesday, revealing that Nigeria continues to struggle with systemic public sector corruption. Despite maintaining its previous score, the country has slipped in the global rankings, reflecting a period of stagnation in anti-corruption momentum.
Stagnant Scores and Ranking Drop
The CPI measures perceived public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
- Nigeria’s 2025 Score: 26 (Unchanged from 2024).
- Global Rank: 142nd out of 182 countries (A drop of two places from 140th in 2024).
- Performance vs. Average: Nigeria remains significantly below the global average score of 42.
The African Context
Nigeria’s performance places it behind 33 other African nations, highlighting a regional lag in transparency and accountability.
Top Performers in Africa:
- Seychelles: 68 points
- Cabo Verde: 62 points
- Botswana: 58 points
- Rwanda: 58 points
Other African nations ranked ahead of Nigeria include Mauritius, Namibia, Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, and Egypt.
“Western Safe Havens”: Senator Shehu Sani Reacts
The report has drawn criticism from former lawmaker Senator Shehu Sani, who challenged the methodology and focus of Transparency International. Sani argued that the index fails to account for the role of Western nations in facilitating global corruption.
Key points of Sani’s critique:
- The “Safe Haven” Argument: Sani described Western nations like Switzerland as “safe havens” where looted money from developing nations is deposited.
- Methodological Bias: He suggested that TI overlooks the corruption inherent in harboring illicit funds while focusing strictly on the source countries.
- The “36 States” Jab: In a satirical remark, Sani noted that TI ranking Nigeria as the “36th most corrupt” (relative to the bottom) felt “as if they counted the number of our states.”
Global Trends
The 2025 report indicates a slight global decline in transparency, with the worldwide average dropping to 42. More than two-thirds of the countries surveyed scored below 50, suggesting that the majority of nations are failing to effectively tackle corruption.
For Nigeria, the drop from 140th to 142nd serves as a call to action for the administration to move beyond policy announcements and deliver tangible results in its anti-corruption crusade.
Source: Transparency International
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