The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s national statistical system coordinating agency, has reported that about N721 billion was received as bribe by Nigerian public servants in 2023, representing about 0.35% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The report released on Thursday titled ‘Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends’ was based on a survey conducted by the statistics agency in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The report’s findings showed that during the year under review, the average cash bribe was N8,284, representing an increase from an average of N5,754 in 2019.
It partly clarified: “According to the 2023 survey, the average cash bribe paid was 8,284 Nigerian Naira. While the nominal average cash bribe size increased since 2019 (from NGN 5,754), this does not account for inflation. The inflation-adjusted average cash bribe in 2023 was 29 per cent smaller than in 2019 in terms of what could be bought with the money.
“Overall, it is estimated that a total of roughly NGN 721 billion (US$1.26 billion) was paid in cash bribes to public officials in Nigeria in 2023, corresponding to 0.35 per cent of the entire Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria”, the report added.
According to the publication, corruption is ranked fourth among the major problems affecting Nigeria’s political economy, following the cost of living, insecurity and unemployment.
The report stated that this suggested relatively stable and high levels of concerns in the public about corruption over the year and compared to other concerns such as education or housing issues.
This is even as it revealed that Nigerians confidence in the government’s anti-corruption effort had been declining over time and across regions, noting that while in 2019, more than half of all citizens thought that the government was effective in fighting corruption by 2023, the share dropped to less than a third of all citizens.
The report indicated the downward trend in the citizen’s confidence was observable across the entire country, with all six geopolitical zones recording reductions of more than 10% points between 2019 and 2023 in terms of the share of citizens who thought the government was effective in fighting corruption.
The report further showed that 56% of Nigerians interacted with a public official in 2023, down from 63% in 2019 but that despite this reduction, bribery remained widespread, with an average of 5.1 bribes paid per bribe payer, totalling approximately 87 million bribes nationwide or a decrease from the 117 million bribes estimated in 2019.
Curiously, the report’s findings revealed that bribery was more common in rural areas, with rural residents paying an average of 5.8 bribes compared to 4.5 bribes in urban areas.
The report also reflected that over 95% of the bribes were paid in monetary form (cash or money transfer) in 2023 and that public officials were more likely to demand bribes while private sector culprits included doctors in private hospitals, which increased from six percent in 2019 to 14% in 2023.
Despite this increase, bribery in the public sector remained about twice as high, with public sector contract rates also being twice as high as those in the private sector.
A further analysis of the report’s findings showed that in 2023, 27% of Nigerians who interacted with a public official paid a bribe, slightly lower than 29% recorded in 2019, adding that including instances where bribes were requested but refused, over one-third of interactions between citizens and public officials involved bribery.
Also, the report disclosed that a growing trend of Nigerians refusing to pay bribes as in 2023, 70% of those asked to pay a bribe refused at least once, with the highest refusal rates in the North-West zone at 76%.
The regional trends showed that all regions recorded refusal rates above 60%, indicating that Nigerians are increasingly standing against corruption as the percentage of citizens who viewed bribery requests as acceptable to expedite administrative procedures decreased from 29% in 2019 to 23% in 2023.
The report revealed that fewer citizens reported suffering negative consequences after refusing bribe requests in 2023 compared to 2019, suggesting a growing boldness of the citizens to confront corrupt officials without fear of repercussions.
Specifically, in 2023, 21% of those who refused to give bribe confirmed they refused because they had other options even as normative concerns (42%) and cost of living pressures (23%) also influenced their refusal to pay bribes.
The report also indicated that not less than 60% of public sector workers were hired due to nepotism, bribery or both between 2020 and 2023, with six out of 10 successful candidates admitting to using either nepotism, bribery, or both to improve their chances of being recruited into public service.
According to the report, 27% of the affected candidates admitted to using only bribery, 13% to only nepotism, and 19% to both bribery and nepotism. Conversely, 40%of the candidates claimed to have secured their positions without resorting to any such means, based on data collected between November 2020 and October 2023.
The report also revealed that the selection process used to recruit public officials played a crucial role in shaping the culture of integrity that should drive the civil service as well as ensure that recruits have the highest standards of professionalism and merit.
The report’s findings also disclosed that the 2023 the public sector recruitment process required closer monitoring, as almost half (46%) of people who secured a job in the public sector in the last three years before the survey admitted that they paid a bribe to facilitate their recruitment, representing about 1.5 times the 31% share in the 2019 survey.
The 2023 survey also found evidence that a considerable number of people recruited into the public sector secured their posts with the help of a friend or relative, while of all successful applicants in the last three years before the 2023 survey, in addition to paying a bribe 32% were helped by friends or relatives.
Overall, the report also indicated that in the three years before the 2023 survey, around 60% of public sector applicants in the country were hired as a result of nepotism, bribery or both, representing about 1.2 times the share found in the 2019 survey.
The report also noted that the use of bribery was notably lower when the recruitment process included formal assessments but that 51% of candidates were not formally assessed, and of these, a significant 53% admitted to using bribery or nepotism to secure their positions.
On the other hand, the report indicated that among the 49% who underwent a written test or oral interview, the use of unethical means such as bribery or nepotism dropped to 41%.
The report further clarified that the 2023 survey data indicated that approximately half (49%) of those who secured a position in the public sector in the three years before the survey passed a written test and/or oral interview during the recruitment selection process.
This is even as the data suggested that the means of selection had a role in facilitating or preventing the use of illegal practices during recruitment, noting that among those who went through an assessment procedure (written test/oral interview), 41% made use of bribery compared to 53% among those who were not formally assessed.
