Nigeria winning corruption war under Jonathan -Presidency

The Presidency on Sunday said contrary to what many might believe,
Nigeria is winning the war on corruption under President Goodluck
Jonathan's watch.
It said although it might not be immediately clear to many, the fight
against corruption has been taken several notches higher since
Jonathan came on board.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin
Okupe, made this known in a statement made available to journalists in
Abuja.
"There is no doubt that Nigeria is winning the war on 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," Okupe said.
He said the nation's movement from its 144th position on Transparency
International's Corruption Perception Index last year to 136th
position this year was an indication that a lot had been achieved by
this administration in the anti-corruption fight.
He recalled that when the oganisation gave its verdict last year and
Nigerians held the view that the Federal Government was not doing
enough to fight corruption, the administration had assured that the
Jonathan administration remained focus in its determination to
completely eradicate corruption in public service.
He said the latest TI rating was a proof that Jonathan's effort in the
fight against corruption is yielding positive results.
He said, "There is no doubt that since President Jonathan came on
board as president of this country, the fight against corruption has
been taken 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's carefully articulated and executed
Agricultural Transformation Agenda ended forty 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 Direct Procurement and
Distribution of Fertiliser 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 was 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, he said, was what the Jonathan administration had been doing and
that was the template adopted by countries like Denmark and New
Zealand, which are at the top of the TI index.
Like New Zealand, Okupe said the Jonathan administration was deploying
Information and Communications Technology to tackle corruption head
on.

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