News

70% Of Nigerians Refuse To Pay Bribes -NBS

Published

1 year ago

July 12, 2024

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says 70 per cent of Nigerians refused to pay bribes in 2023 on at least one occasion.
This is according to the NBS Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends Report released in Abuja yesterday.
The report said the bribery refusal rate was found to be highest in the North-West at 76 per cent, although the refusal rate recorded in all the zones was above 60 per cent.
It said in 2023, fewer citizens reported suffering negative consequences after refusing bribe requests at 38 per cent compared with the 49 per cent recorded in 2019.
“This suggests that Nigerians feel increasingly empowered to confront corrupt officials without fear of repercussions.”
The report said in 2023, 21 per cent of all bribe refusers indicated that their main reason for refusing a bribe request was because they had other options of getting what they wanted.
It showed that 42 per cent of bribe -refusers did so because it was the right, moral thing to do while 23 per cent refused because they could not afford the requested gift or payment.
“This data shows that normative concerns as well as cost of living pressures play an important role in explaining why Nigerians refuse to pay bribes.”
The report revealed that corruption ranked fourth among the most significant problems affecting the country in 2023 at 10.9 per cent.
“Corruption came after the cost of living at 22.6 per cent, insecurity and unemployment at 19 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively.
“This suggests relatively stable and high levels of concerns about corruption over time and compared to other concerns such as education or housing.”
The report said Nigerians’ confidence in the government’s anti-corruption effort had been declining over time and across regions.
It said in 2019, more than half of all citizens thought that the government was effective in fighting corruption; however in 2023, the share declined to less than a third of all citizens
“The downward trend in the citizens’ confidence is observable across the entire country, with all six zones recording reductions of more than 10 percentage points between 2019 and 2023.”
The report said in 2023, more than half of all bribes paid to public officials were requested directly by those officials at 52 per cent, while indirect requests accounted for 23 per cent.
“This was followed by facilitate procedure at nine per cent, sign of appreciation at eight per cent and third party request at five per cent.”
It revealed that more than 95 per cent of all bribes paid in 2023 were paid in monetary form (cash or money transfer), a slightly larger share than what was recorded in 2019.
“Others are food and drink at eight per cent, animals at seven per cent exchange for other services at four per cent.”
The report said that roughly N721 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 (GDP) of Nigeria.
It said in 2023, out of all citizens who paid a bribe, 8.6 per cent reported their experience to an official institution capable of investigating or otherwise following up and acting on that report.
“This represents a marked increase in the bribery reporting rate since 2019 when it stood at 3.6 per cent.
“The increase is primarily driven by developments in the Northern zones, where the bribery reporting rate increased markedly from 4.7 per cent in 2019 to 13.4 per cent in 2023.
“In the Southern zones, the bribery reporting rate instead decreased moderately from 2.5 per cent in 2019 to 1.7 per cent in 2023.”
The report said more formal procedures were initiated due to reporting at 45 per cent and fewer cases had no follow-up at 17 per cent.
The Tide source reports that this is the third round of the corruption survey with the first two rounds held in 2016 and 2019, respectively, across the 36 states and the FCT.
The corruption survey also known as the National Survey on Quality and Integrity of Public Services in Nigeria was implemented by NBS in partnership with United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

News

NELFUND Warns Students Against Fake Loan Portal

Published

1 day ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has alerted the public to a fraudulent message circulating online, claiming that the NELFUND Student Loan Registration Portal is open.

The message directs applicants to a third-party link (http://gvly.xyz/Nelfund-Student-Loan, which NELFUND confirms is unauthorised and fraudulent.

In a post obtained from its X handle, yesterday, NELFUND urged students and the general public not to click on the link or provide any personal information, emphasising that the official loan registration portal is only accessible through the Fund’s verified channels.

The agency reminded applicants to exercise caution online and to report any suspicious links or communications claiming to be from NELFUND.

“Applicants are encouraged to always verify official announcements via NELFUND’s official website and social media channels,” NELFUND said.

This advisory comes as part of NELFUND’s ongoing efforts to safeguard students and ensure the integrity of the student loan application process.

News

Eastern Port Police Boss Promises On Crime-Free Operations

Published

1 day ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

The new Commissioner of Police Eastern, Ports Command, Mr Tijani Fatai has promised to ensure a crime- free ports operations in the zone.
He said effective policing will be mounted across the ports in the zone in tackling the high rate of community unrest, activities of port rats and other social vices.
Fatai while speaking to newsmen shortly after taking over as the 17th commissioner said he wants to be remembered as a peace maker during his tenure as Commissioner of Police in the Eastern Ports Command.
According to him,’’the community policing is the sure way of addressing most conflicts and other social vices bedeviling our society today and I will explore it to its fullest” .
The Commissioner also assured officers of the rank and file of improved welfare whoch he described as a cardinal objective of the present efforts of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
He said,” the Inspector General of Police has sent me to assure you all of welfare, promotions as and when due,no officers particular rank and file will be left behind in the coming months.
Fatai before his recent posting was an operational officer,who spent most of his years with the Police Mobile Force (PMF) where he served as Unit Commander (UC) and Commander, PMF.
Before his redeployment as a Commissioner of Police,(CP), he was the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, DCP, Operations, Lagos State Command.

News

Kalabaris Celebrate New Year Amid Fanfare

Published

1 day ago

November 19, 2025

The Tide

Thousands of Kalabari indigenes from Akuku- Toru, Asari-Toru, Degema and Port Harcourt City Local Government Areas last Sunday gathered at Elem Kalabari in Degema Local Government Area to celebrate what they said is the Kalabari new year amidst pomp and pageantry
According to stakeholders, the event which started over 200 years ago normally falls on the 16th of November every year.
The of this year’s celebration which was organised by Kalabari Renaissance Foundation was “Our Heritage, Honouring Our Waters and Renewing Our Spirit.”
Stakeholders said this year’s celebration was symbolic as it was holding at Elem Kalabari which is the home of the Kalabari people.
The event also featured various masquerade displays from cultural troupes within Kalabari and beyond.
Speaking on the significance of the event, the Amanyanabo of Elem Kalabari (The Source), HRH Mujahid Asari Dokubo, said the celebration signaled a return to the traditional values of the Kalabari people and the need for self-recreation.
“It’s not just about celebration, It’s about recreating ourselves, bringing us back from death.
“The organisation that has come to take over this celebration – Renaissance – really fits the description of what ought to happen to us as a people.
“It’s not just Kalabari; it’s about all of us and our values. We have to look at ourselves and our values,” he said.
Dokubo called on all Kalabari citizens to join hands together to revive their traditional values and heritage in order not to lose their cultural identity and spiritual trajectory.
Also speaking, Harry Awolayeofori MacMorrison, Chief Administrator and Chairman of Kalabari Renaissance Foundation, organizsers of the Kalabari new year festival, said the event marks the beginning of a new calendar year for the Kalabari people, after November 15 of every year when the tide cleanses the pollution from the Sombreiro River inflows, describing it as a renewal of the Kalabari people.
“It’s the renewal of the people. Kalabari area is saline environment and at a time, the Sombreiro River comes in and pollutes the river.
“On the 15th November, across Kalabari, the tide turns and takes all the fresh water that polluted the saline river back to the Sombreiro River
. “On the 15th is the end of the year. Normally when there is an end, there is a new beginning. On the 16th (November) is the beginning of the Kalabari calendar,” he said.
Awolayeofori Mac Morrison said the Kalabari communities had been holding the new year festival separately in the past until the Renaissance Foundation decided to champion a unified celebration to enable them forge a common front of trado-cultural and socio-economic development across the entire territory.
He said last year’s event held at Abalama while they decided to bring this year’s celebration to Elem Kalabari because of it significance to the Kalabari nation.
Also speaking, a member of the planning committee and media lead, Journalist Ibiba Don Pedro, said there was need to reawaken the consciousness of their people on the need to embrace their traditional values without reservations, noting that there was nothing fetish about the festival.
She said the celebration was to unite the Kalabaris as well as project the cultural heritage of the people.
Don Pedro said time has come for Africa to go back to their root , adding that development will continue to elude African countries until the people rediscover themselves.