APC diaspora condemns OCCRP’s ranking of Tinubu among world’s most corrupt leaders
The diaspora arm of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly criticised the inclusion of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2024 global corruption ranking by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
In a statement released on Saturday, Mr Ayoola Lawal, the former Secretary of the APC Diaspora Chairmen Committee and immediate past Chairman of the APC in Scandinavian countries, labelled the ranking as unjustified and biased.
“It is utterly perplexing that the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, is being ranked based on allegations that predate his presidency and remain unsubstantiated in any court of law. The OCCRP’s decision appears more about perception than proven factual evidence,” Lawal asserted.
The report, which lists Tinubu among the world’s most corrupt leaders of 2024, has sparked outrage among APC supporters. Lawal questioned the credibility of the OCCRP’s methodology, emphasising that the allegations cited were historical and lacked merit.
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He further argued that the ranking failed to account for Tinubu’s leadership and ongoing policy reforms aimed at addressing Nigeria’s pressing challenges. “Targeting President Tinubu with historical and unresolved allegations undermines his leadership and unfairly casts Nigeria in a negative light,” he added.
Lawal called on the OCCRP to clarify its criteria for the ranking and urged Nigerians to focus on holding their leaders accountable through democratic processes rather than relying on external assessments he described as questionable.
“We must not allow external assessments lacking credible standards to define our narrative. True leadership accountability comes from within, through our institutions and collective voice as a people,” he concluded.
The OCCRP has yet to respond to the criticisms surrounding its 2024 corruption rankings.
Written by Sakinat Musa Abubakar, Editor at Neptune Prime
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