World Bank's 2011 report on 2011 investment climate in Nigeria said one-third of micro-enterprises agreed that "informal payments/gifts to government officials" were common occurrences, suggesting that registered firms deal more with such requests for bribes.
Only 20 per cent of micro-enterprise firms reported to have had foreknowledge of the amount of money required to "get things done," a situation that means the informal payments are sudden and unplanned for.
The report further stated that these informal payments/gifts represented approximately 1.2 per cent of annual sales for all micro-enterprises. It added that micro-enterprises dealing in government contracts were expected to pay approximately 4.3 per cent of the value of contracts that they were hoping to secure.
Manufactured goods attracted larger bribes (6.7 per cent) than those for small services (3.9 per cent). However, firms in the formal sector obviously spent more on corruption, as 47 per cent of formal firms claimed that informal gifts/payments were commonplace in comparison to 33 per cent for micro-enterprises.
The report also stated that micro-enterprises have a greater mistrust of institutions than formal firms; that 63 per cent of formal sector firms and 72 per cent of micro-enterprises reported that the application of laws was not consistent and predictable; and that 41 per cent of formal firms and 20 per cent of micro-enterprises reported that they had advance knowledge of informal payments/gifts.
Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi and Kwara states are some of the states where the study was conducted. The other states are Nassarawa, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.
