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Can Nigeria End Oil Corruption?

Oil accounts for around 75% of Nigeria’s economy, but hundreds of thousands of barrels are stolen every day. Can President Buhari fulfil his election pledge to end oil corruption?

Oil accounts for around 75% of Nigeria’s economy, but no-one knows how much the country produces or refines. It means corruption is rife. Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil are stolen every day, at each level of the supply chain.
It is a problem that has cost the Nigerian economy billions of dollars, and weakened its public services and infrastructure. Schools and hospitals are paid for, but never built; citizens are forced to pay bribes for basic services.
Many believe Nigeria’s new president, Muhammadu Buhari, is the man to end this decades-old problem. He says he will do it, and has taken personal control of the oil ministry. But it is a huge task he has set himself. So, can Nigeria end oil corruption?

(Photo: Buhari inauguration. Credit: AP)

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Sun 25 Oct 2015 20:06GMT
BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

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