How Nigerian governments encourage corruption, by Dele Sobowale

“NEITI audit report probe suffers setback in Senate.” VANGUARD, August 4, 2026 The report by Henry Umoru also stated as follows: • As CBN, NDDC, NEITI, NUPRC shun committee’s summon. • You must appear on Thursday or we invoke our powers – SENATE. The news report, which most readers might have dismissed without much thought (if they read it at all), points to two of the cardinal reasons corruption has been institutionalized in public service.

Presidents and State Governors constitute the prime accomplices of corrupt officials; perhaps because their own hands are seldom clean. It is very difficult for a man, knee deep in filth to undertake the clean up of the premises. That explains why Nigeria’s public sector stinks so much; it has acquired a well-deserved global reputation.

THE MAJOR CAUSE – DISREGARD OF AUDIT QUERY “Fish rots from the head.” When was the last time you read that the President of Nigeria or the Governor of a State ordered a Minister or Commissioner to respond to an audit query? For that matter, when was the first time you heard or read of the President or Governor doing that? Almost without exception, all our Presidents and Governors, past and present, after swearing to uphold the constitution and to enforce our laws, have abandoned, wholesale, the enforcement of one of those laws.

Specifically, almost without exception, they have allowed Ministries, Departments and Agencies, under government, not only to ignore audit queries, but to disregard summons by committees of the legislative branch with absolute immunity. Nigeria is lagging way behind its manifest economic and development destiny because virtually every government – Federal, State and Local Government – is run, not only by unrepentant liars; but, as a den of robbers. “Every great enterprise starts off with enthusiasm for an exalted aim and ends up bugged down in petty politics.” Charles Peguy, 1873-1914 No Nigerian enterprise had started off with more enthusiasm than the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI.

Established in 2004 by President Obasanjo but was ultimately legalized in 2007; when Obasanjo was already a lame duck President after failing in his ambition for the third term. That fact weakened its potency as an anti-corruption agency. Its fate rested in the hands of the Yar’Adua government; for which it was not top priority.