The World Bank and other stakeholders have urged the government to fight institutional corruption as it is the only guarantee to sustainable growth and development.
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 said corruption is a big challenge to the country’s economic development, adding that entrenching fiscal transparency in Nigeria’s public service has been a herculean task.
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 lamented.