APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that Nigeria ranks 145 on graft index, scores 25 out of 100 points is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Guardian reports that Nigeria has ranked 145th among 180 countries and scored 25 out of 100 points on the 2023 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International (TI) made the disclosure yesterday at a press conference in Abuja.
CISLAC’s Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Rafsanjani, explained that CPI sources its data from eight globally acclaimed organisations.
He listed them eight to include Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index, Economist Intelligence Unit Country Ratings, Global Insights Country Risk Ratings, PRS International Country Risk Guide, Varieties of Democracy Project, World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey (EOS) and World Justice Project Rule of Law Index.
The ranking is an improvement over the 2022 outing, where the country scored 150 among 180 nations, with 24 out of the available 100 points.
This is first CPI since the President Bola Tinubu administration assumed office on May 29, 2023.
Rafsanjani decried what he called electoral and judicial corruption, adding that despite amendment to the Electoral Act, the 2023 general elections fell short of expectations of Nigerians.
According to him, the most populous black nation’s score is below Sub-Saharan Africa’s average of 33 points, stressing that most African countries showed stagnation.
The newspaper says that about six months after the imposition of economic sanctions on the Niger Republic, life in the border communities across seven Nigerian states is in dire straits.
Checks by The Guardian across Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno, showed partly deserted border communities where smugglers and bandits alike claim territories, but much to the economic hardship of survivor residents.
It will be recalled that Nigeria severed diplomatic relations with Niger Republic on August 3, 2023, following a military coup led by General Abdlourahamane Tchiani sacking Mohammed Bazoum as the president of the country. The military putsch led the ECOWAS Heads of State to take the punitive decision. President Bola Tinubu is the chairman of the regional body.
Since then, business, and commercial activities between the two neighbouring countries that shared cultural affinities have been halted with tales of woes from citizens residing in border towns.
Particularly hard hit are millions of people in Nigeria’s seven northern states who work in agriculture, the informal sector, or who rely on cross-border trade. While many were not bothered by the new twist of Niger and others pulling out of ECOWAS, the development has been estimated to further worsen what is currently left of the erstwhile thriving border communities.
A visit by The Guardian to the border communities in Baure, Jibia, Kaita, Maiadua, Mashi, and Zango local councils in Katsina State revealed that farming and trading activities have been halted because of the fears of being attacked by militants and strange faces that are seen in their communities, just as many residents have become jobless with an increased number of street beggars.
The situation in the Illela community in Sokoto State and Maigatari in Jigawa State was not different.
The Punch reports that the Federal Government, on Tuesday, disclosed that Nigeria is currently off-track concerning progress on achieving the global Sustainable Development Goal sanitation target and is regrettably among those behind.
It also stated that the country loses about $3 billion annually due to poor sanitation arising from the use of unsanitary or shared toilets and open defecation.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, who disclosed this in Abuja at the National Workshop on Safely Managed Sanitation, however, stated that the government was working hard to tackle the identified concerns.
He said, “The Sustainable Development Goal target 6.2 for sanitation seeks to ‘achieve by 2030, access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.’
“We acknowledge that access to safely managed sanitation is not just a basic human right, but an essential foundation for social and economic development.
“With only six years to the SDG target date of 2030, progress on achieving the global SDG sanitation target of safely managed services is off-track and regrettably among those furthest behind.”
This, according to Utsev, came with high disparities in access across wealth quintiles and locations.
The newspaper says that the Central Bank of Nigeria and foreign airlines operating in Nigeria have differed over the total amount of unpaid ticket revenue in the country.
The CBN on Tuesday said it had ‘concluded the payment of all verified claims’’ by foreign airlines with the payment of an additional $64.44m to concerned airlines.
The central bank said the development had brought the total verified amount paid to the air transport sector to $136.73m, adding that “all the verified airline claims had now been cleared.”
In a statement issued by the CBN Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, and titled, “FX Backlog: CBN Concludes Payment of All Verified Claims By Airlines”, the apex bank said, “the Central Bank of Nigeria, fulfilling its pledge to clear the backlog of foreign exchange owed foreign airlines in the country, has concluded the payment of all verified claims by airlines with an additional $64.44m to the concerned airlines.”
In a statement, the Geneva-Switzerland-based body representing global airlines, said, “IATA welcomes the Central Bank of Nigeria’s announcement this afternoon that it has released an additional $64.44m in blocked airline funds. While this development is encouraging it’s crucial to recognize that approximately $700m remains blocked with Nigeria’s commercial banks.
“As such there’s a considerable journey ahead in fully addressing the issue. This is exacerbated by the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, which has dropped significantly against the dollar. Airlines should not be unfairly penalised by the lower exchange rate.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with the government to ensure that the environment remains conducive to ensuring Nigeria’s connectivity to international markets.”
The naira has continued to fall against the United States dollar with the local unit falling to an all-time low on Monday.
FMDQ Exchange data on Monday showed the naira had fallen to a record low of N1,348/dollar at the official market.
GIK/APA
Nigeria: Press spotlights 145 ranking of Nigeria on graft index, others
