Nigeria has recorded its worst rating in corruption index rated by Transparency International since 2015.
In the 2020 index released on Thursday, the country scored 25 out of 100 points — with zero signifying the worst performing countries and 100, the best-ranked.
It also dropped to 149 out of the 180 countries surveyed, making it the second most corrupt country in West Africa.
The 2020 rating is one point below that of 2019 when the country scored 26 points, and two points below its ranking in 2018 and 2017 when it got 27 points.
It is also the worst ranking the country has got in five years. It scored 26 points in 2015 and 28 points in 2016.
NIGERIA’S RATING BELOW AFRICA’S AVERAGE
On a sub-regional basis, Nigeria is among the worst-performing countries in West Africa, only second to Guinea-Bissau which was ranked 165.
The report pointed out that Sub-Saharan Africa remains the lowest-performing region on the CPI, “showing little improvement from previous years and underscoring a need for urgent action”.
It said the region’s average is 32/100, which is still better than Nigeria’s 25 points.
Seychelles emerged best in Sub-Saharan Africa with 66 points, followed by Botswana (60) and Cape Verde (58).
At the bottom of the index are Sudan (16), Somalia (12) and South Sudan (12). (The Cable)
