This paper interrogates the impact of corruption on public service delivery in Nigeria, and the implications for political leadership and economic development. The paper argues that corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of Nigerian society, as ‘almost a third of the nation’s population pay bribes when they come in contact with public officials’, according to Transparency International. Political office holders use their offices to divert public funds to private use, while corruption cases drag for years without the suspects being punished. This has encouraged members of successive governments to steal as their individual and collective greed dictate. As a result, social services have been crippled in critical sectors like education, health, agriculture, transport. The paper also demonstrates that pervasive corruption has had far-reaching implications for political leadership and economic development. Hence, the citizenry has lost confidence in the capacity of political leaders to provide even its most basic needs. The paper relies on secondary sources for data, and uses Percentage, Table, Frequency and Comparison to analyze the trajectory of Nigeria’s corruption empire, with emphasis on the uninterrupted years of so-called democratic rule (1999 - date). The study reveals, among other things, that the failure of government to punish offenders is responsible for the unending menace of official corruption in Nigeria. It concludes that leadership failure is inevitable, so long as corruption remains unchecked. Practical and practicable recommendations are then made, for dealing with the menace of corruption.