Transparency International (TI) said yesterday that Nigeria's poor rating in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) survey this year was not caused by the recent fraud in the banking sector as claimed by the Attorney General of the Federation Michael Aondoakaa.

Aondoakaa said on Wednesday that the recent crisis in some banks which cost the country nearly a trillion naira owing to issuance of non-performing loans made Nigeria slip on the CPI rating.

In the latest rating, Nigeria dropped from number 121 last year to 131 least corrupt country out of 180 countries surveyed,tying with Mauritania, Libya and Lebanon.

Secretary General of Transparency in Nigeria (TIN) Osita Nnamani Ogbu told Daily Trust yesterday, "We do not agree that it is the bank crisis or the private sector that negatively affected Nigeria's rating."

"The CPI survey focuses on corruption in the public sector. The surveys used in compiling the CPI ask questions relating to the abuse of public power for private benefit. These include questions on: bribery of public officials, kickbacks on public procurement, embezzlement of public funds and questions that the strength and effectiveness of public sector anti-corruption efforts."

Ogbu said the period covered for the assessment was from the release of the last CPI when the fraud in the banking sector was yet to be exposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the time.

He said, "The period covered was the period from the release of the last CPI. It was released on 23rd September, 2009. The surveys were based on the perceptions about the public sector."

The TI representative had blamed Nigeria's poor rating this year on lack of electoral accountability, bribery of government officials, poor implementation of anti-corruption laws and unnecessary injunctions granted by the judiciary, among others.