Lagos - Almost a third of adult Nigerians
pay civil servants and other public officials bribes totalling
400 billion naira ($1.27 billion) annually, the country's
statistics office said in a survey on graft.
The poll among households shows the uphill challenge the
government of President Muhammadu Buhari is facing in fighting
corruption, which has undermined development in the oil exporter
for decades.
Nigerians spent 400 billion naira - the equivalent of 39
percent of the combined federal and state education budget in
2016 - to bribe officials between June 2015 and May 2016,
according to the office.
The survey, released on Wednesday, does not necessarily
include high-profile executive corruption cases such as the
theft of oil revenues, which have made headlines in the past.
It shows that despite government action to put senior
officials accused of graft on trial, Nigerians still have to pay
every day for basic services such as dealing with customs or
police officers.
Buhari took office in May 2015 vowing to crack down on
corruption, but there have been no high-profile graft
convictions so far.
"The average sum paid as a cash bribe in Nigeria is
approximately naira 5,300", or the equivalent of an eighth of
monthly salaries, the report said.
Some 42 percent of those polled had to pay bribes to speed
up or finalize administrative work which civil servants would
otherwise have delayed or refused to do. Some 18 percent of
bribes were paid to avoid a fine and 13 percent to avoid
cancelling of state services such as a water supply.
Passports or driving licences often cannot be obtained
unless officials are paid a "dash", as a bribe is known in the
West African nation.
Police officers were the largest group of bribe takers,
though - by value - customs officers topped the list followed by
judges, the report said. Officers force motorists to pay bribes
or receive fines for minor traffic violations.
Nigeria imports much of what it needs, from basic food to
consumer goods, machines and cars. Prices are sometime double
what would be paid in producing countries as firms and retailers
factor in custom duties and bribes.
The survey, which was supported by a UN agency and the
European Union, is based on 33 067 interviews with adults across
Nigeria.