The Presidency has said that Nigeria is winning the war against corruption because President Goodluck Jonathan’s effort in fighting against corruption is yielding positive results. This statement was made following the release of Nigeria’s improved rating in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index this year.
The statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, in Abuja read “there is no doubt that Nigeria is winning the war against corruption. It may not be immediately apparent to those who do not understand the dynamics of applying creative techniques in upturning an age-old habit that has cost this country a lot in terms of financial resources; but to those like the officials in Transparency International knowledgeable in the nuances of fighting corruption, a lot of grounds have been covered.
“The latest TI rating is proof that President Jonathan’s effort in the fight against corruption is yielding positive results. There is no doubt that since President Jonathan came on board as president of this country, the fight against corruption has been taking 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.
“One major area this fight has been visible is the agricultural sector where the administration carefully articulated and executed Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) ended 40 years of corruption in the distribution of fertilizers to farmers. The same thing applies to the reforms in Ports where we have 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’s direct procurement and distribution of fertilizer, 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.
“Also, the determination of President Jonathan to tackle corruption head on has seen the government take 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.
“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-led 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-led administration is adroitly deploying Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to tackle corruption head on.”
The Presidency also added that the President will not relent in his efforts to tackle corruption in the country.