The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that about 60 per cent of public sector workers got employed through nepotism, bribery or both between 2020 and 2023.

It was contained in the recently released report by NBS titled: “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends”. The report was based on a survey conducted with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

According to the report, six out of 10 successful candidates admitted to using either nepotism, bribery or both to improve their chances of being employed.

The report further stated that 27 per cent of these candidates admitted to using only bribery, 13 per cent to nepotism, and 19 per cent to both bribery and nepotism.

Similarly, 40 per cent claimed they secured their employment without resorting to any such means, from data collected between November 2020 and October 2023.

“The selection process used to recruit public officials plays a crucial role in shaping the culture of integrity that should drive the civil service as well as ensure that new recruits have the highest standards of professionalism and merit. However, the 2023 survey findings indicate that the public sector recruitment process requires closer monitoring, as almost half (46 per cent) of people who secured a job in the public sector in the last three years prior to the survey admitted that they paid a bribe to facilitate their recruitment – about 1.5 times the share found in the 2019 survey (31 per cent).

“The 2023 survey also found evidence that a considerable number of people recruited into the public sector secured their posts with the help of a friend or relative, many in addition to paying a bribe: of all successful applicants in the last three years prior to the 2023 survey, 32 per cent were helped by friends or relatives.

Overall, in the three years prior to the 2023 survey, around 60 per cent of public sector applicants in Nigeria were hired as a result of nepotism, bribery or both – about 1.2 times the share found in the 2019 survey.”