The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has lamented the country's poor rating by Transparency International in its 2012 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), saying that it has shown as an empty boast the Goodluck Jonathan presidency's claim that corruption has gone down under its watch.

In a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party expressed serious concern at the "negative impact that corruption is having on the country's economy as well as the image of the country."

It said that if left unchecked, corruption could bring Nigeria down even ahead of the slow intensity warfare and general insecurity in the country. According to the ACN, "harvest of corruption scandals" that have dogged the Jonathan administration is probably unprecedented in the country's history."

This has been attested to by the global anti-corruption body in its latest CPI, it noted, adding: "Sadly, despite the presidency's self-delusion, Nigeria remains among the most corrupt nations on earth."

In the latest CPI, Nigeria - Africa's most populous nation and one of the continent's biggest economies - was not listed among the top 35 least corrupt nations in Africa, even when it is ranked the 35th most corrupt nation in the world!

"It is also instructive that Liberia and Sierra Leone, which Nigeria helped to liberate from the throes of war, are now doing much better in fighting corruption than the country (Nigeria), just like much smaller and less-endowed nations like Niger, Gambia, Burkina Faso and Mali are better rated," the ACN said.

The party blamed Nigeria's precarious position in the global anti-corruption battle on the fact that "the Jonathan administration has not only become corruption scandal-prone, it has also allowed impunity to thrive by paying only lip service to probing the scandals and bringing perpetrators to book.

"The massive oil subsidy scam, the Malabu Oil scandal, the pension scam, and now the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting N2.1 billion scam are just a few of the corruption scandals that have dogged the Jonathan administration.