Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says the ministry is poised to collaborate with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to fight corruption.
Mohammed said this on Wednesday when he paid a visit to Ms Delia Ferreria Rubio, Chairperson of Transparency International (TI) in Abuja.
The minister said there was no Nigerian government that had been as transparent as the Buhari administration, noting, however, that TI had failed to see and appreciate the sociological dynamics of fighting corruption in the country.
He added that “TI should try to look at the whole Nigerian picture with its different dynamics before
making any condemnation.
“There should be constant interaction with government.”
The minister, who welcomed the TI chairperson to Nigeria and thanked her for making Nigeria her first point of call in Africa, pointed out that “TI only collates reports of suspected corruption cases from various institutions like World Bank and analyses them.
The TI chair said the group’s local chapter in Nigeria — Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) — was willing to cooperate with the ministry in the fight against corruption.
Rubio asked that the fight be institutionalised so that the same issues do not arise when another government emerged.
The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, said NGOs tried to analyse government’s activities by commending it when it was doing well and raise alarm when it drifts away.
He also CISLAC had in various capacities interacted with government and had assisted in capacity building in so many areas, which showed that the organisation was interested in the success of the country.
