Fight corruption to make way for sustainable development, World Bank admonishes Nigerian govt

The World Bank and other stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to fight institutional corruption in order pave way for sustainable growth and development in the country.

Speaking at a policy conversation on the State of Anti-corruption Policy and Practice in Nigeria jointly organised by Agora Policy and MacArthur, on Tuesday, stakeholders said Nigeria must begin to reform its political recruitment process, build strong institutions, reform the judicial system and strengthen the anti-corruption fight.

World Bank Country Director, Ndiamé Diop noted that corruption is a big challenge to the country’s economic development.

Diop noted that entrenching fiscal transparency in Nigeria’s public service has been a herculean task.

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He said institutional challenges have prevented development of innovative solutions to promote transparency and entrench fiscal data.

“We talk about transparency, but in order to have transparent reports, you need to have the data and that data needs to be accurate and reliable. And right now, the data system requires all kinds of manual processes that allow for leakages, which have long affected the system,” he said.

On his own, Africa director, MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima asserted that corruption was a major challenge to Nigeria’s development.

Shettima said: “Corruption has denied our youth the future, denied us our basic necessities including roads, electricity and education. Unless we challenge corruption, we know that our society would be more endangered.”

He also called on the authorities to join forces with the foundation and other private sector stakeholders to reduce corruption in the society.

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