Wednesday, December 11, 2024 -The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, has said that Nigeria was making progress in fighting corruption, with more citizens rejecting the practice and demanding accountability.
Country Representative of UNODC, Mr Cheikh Toure, who stated this at the
2024 International Anti-Corruption Day commemoration in Abuja on Tuesday, cited
a recent national corruption survey showing encouraging signs of progress.
He said a significant 70 per cent of Nigerians, including youth, have
refused to pay bribes on at least one occasion, as reported in the UNODC
national corruption survey.
According to him, there is also a nearly threefold increase in formal
procedures against corrupt public officials, rising from 16 per cent to 45 per
cent between 2019 and 2023.
“This statistic is not just a number; it represents a growing culture of
integrity and resistance against corruption.
”Moreover, 42 per cent of respondents refused to pay bribes simply
because it was the right thing to do.
“This moral stance is the foundation upon which we must build our
anti-corruption efforts,” he added.
Toure stressed that in spite of the positive developments, there was
still much work to be done, stressing the need to further foster integrity,
transparency, and accountability in the public sector.
He called for the empowerment of youth to be an integral part of the
solution, quoting Felipe Paullier, the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth
Affairs, who noted that corruption impacts young people disproportionately.
He said it diminished resources for education, healthcare, social
development, and climate action, and stifles creativity, limits job prospects,
and even affects the fairness of sports and public life.
The UNDOC Country Representative, however, expressed hope, saying that
young people were not merely victims of corruption but powerful agents of
change.
0 Comments