NATIONAL: Transparency International’s report indicts Nigerians, not Buhari – Garba Shehu

THE Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Buhari, Garba Shehu, has said the recent Transparency International, TI’s report on Nigeria is a reflection of the citizens’ ways of life.

THE  2020 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (TI-CPI) had ranked Nigeria low as the country dropped from 146 to 149 to become the second most corrupt country in West Africa.

The report is the worst in two years noting that Nigeria scored  25 out of 100 points,

But reacting to the development on Channel Television today, Shehu said the report was an indictment of Nigerians and not  that of President Buhari or his administration.

He added that the federal government had said Nigeria’s low rating does not truly reflect the great strides by the country in its fight against corruption.

Shehu stressed that the report was blind to the areas where the government had “done extremely well”.

 “We want to be complimented for the things we are doing well. As a government, it’s not for us to stop them from releasing reports.

“But based on the parameters used, Transparency International’s report is not a judgement on (President) Buhari or his administration. It is a judgement on Nigerians.

“The two (parameters) they dwelled on are essentially Nigerian problems. They are talking about the political culture of this country.

“Is it Buhari that is a thug? We are not doing thuggery. And then they talked about the justice project; perceived corruption in the judiciary. These perceptions are essentially not correct.”

Though he agreed that there were issues, he said so many things are also ongoing, such as judicial reforms.

The anchors of the programme, however, pointed out to him that the report did not capture the private sector, informal economies/market, but civil service, appointments, prosecution of corrupt officials among other issues.

Then, asked why the federal government responded to the Transparency International’s report if it indicted Nigerians and not the Presidency, Garba Shehu said: “We responded because the report turned a blind eye on where we did extremely well.”

He noted that “Before we came corruption was part of daily life and it was never denounced.

“But now, with increasing education and awareness, Nigerians are coming to accept that corruption is wrong and not the way to go.”