About 70% of Nigerians declined to give a bride when asked to do so between 2019 and 2023.
This is the outcome of a survey carried out by the Nigerian Office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, made available to AIT.live.
The UNODC however find that at least $1.2 billion or 35% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, was paid in cash as bribes to public officials in 2023.
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The UNODC added that the prevalence of bribe payments in the private sector increased significantly from 6% as at 2019 when the second survey was done, to 14% in 2023.
The UN agency found in the third national corruption survey that at least 42% of respondents refused to pay a bribe because it was the “right thing to do”
The UNODC Country Representative, Oliver Stolpe, in a statement accompanying the report, said more findings show that Nigeria leads in establishing international best practice in the implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption through the conduct of periodic and scientific assessments.
The report of the survey, conducted in partnership with the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistic, recommended the strengthening of complaint mechanisms and increased use of e-government platforms to reduce the amount of contact citizens have with public officials.
The survey further recommended rewarding honest citizens and public officials, while holding those who solicit or accept bribes, including those in the criminal justice system and parliament, to punishment.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
