An Empirical Analysis of Anti - Corruption Efforts, Public Perception of Corruption and Government Credibility in Nigeria

Curbing corruption is one of the intractable problems facing Nigeria. While a great deal is known about the impact of corruption on macroeconomic outcomes such as economic growth, little is known about how failure to tackle the menace through implementation of anticorruption programmes and policies, and public perception of corruption have impacted on government credibility. Against this backdrop, this study investigated the relationship among anticorruption efforts, public perception of corruption and government credibility in Nigeria. The study relied solely on primary data generated through a survey of 304 respondents. The data gathered were analysed using descriptive and logit regression model. The study found that corrupt practices such as kickbacks, abuse of entrusted authority for personal gain are widespread and severe in Nigeria and public perception of corruption has a significant impact on government credibility. However, the study found no significant relationship between anti - corruption efforts and government creditability proxied by political distrust. Overall, the result suggests that anti ? corruption effortsdo not have any significant impact on reducing distrust towards government in Nigeria due to the deep - rooted public perception. The study recommended that genuine commitment from government among other stakeholders towards anti - corruption campaign will restore public trust in the government.