By Nkechi Eze
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday, 23 December 2025, formally concluded and presented the outcome of the deployment of the 2025 Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) alongside the ACTU Effectiveness Index (AEI) across Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), revealing far-reaching ethical, financial and governance gaps within the public sector.
Speaking at a press briefing held at the ICPC Auditorium in Abuja, the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, said the exercise marked the seventh annual assessment of federal MDAs and represented a critical instrument for strengthening accountability, transparency and ethical conduct in public service.
Dr. Aliyu explained that the EICS, developed by the ICPC and fully institutionalised in 2019 after its introduction in 2015, has become one of the most effective tools for measuring ethics, integrity and compliance within Nigerian public institutions. He noted that the 2025 deployment was designed not only to assess compliance but also to identify systemic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and risks that undermine institutional performance and service delivery.
According to the ICPC Chairman, general ethical principles are no longer sufficient in the face of increasing internal and external pressures confronting public institutions, which often lead to rule-bending, distorted directives and obstruction of organisational goals. He stressed that tailored ethics and integrity frameworks, such as the EICS and AEI, are essential for measuring compliance with statutes, policies, standards and government directives, while also providing evidence-based guidance for reforms.
He stated that the Commission uses the outcomes of the EICS to review institutional performance, publish annual reports and issue recommendations for improvement. MDAs rated as Non-Responsive or Non-Compliant, he added, are subjected to follow-up actions such as System Study and Review (SSR) or Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) to close gaps and enforce adherence.
On the scope and methodology of the 2025 exercise, Dr. Aliyu disclosed that the EICS was deployed to 360 federal MDAs, with three exempted, resulting in 357 MDAs effectively assessed. The deployment was conducted physically by ICPC teams across the Federal Capital Territory and states nationwide. He said the assessment involved rigorous data collection, verification and analysis using standardised EICS templates, field validation visits and review of documentary evidence submitted by MDAs and their Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs). Assessments were benchmarked against public service rules, circulars and ethical codes, with quantitative scores supported by qualitative evidence. The AEI scores, he explained, accounted for 30 per cent of the ACTU indicator.
Presenting the findings, the ICPC Chairman revealed that no MDA achieved full compliance in the 2025 assessment. Out of 344 MDAs assessed, 48 MDAs, representing 13.95 per cent, recorded Substantial Compliance, 132 MDAs (38.37 per cent) achieved Partial Compliance, 141 MDAs (40.99 per cent) showed Poor Compliance, while 23 MDAs (6.69 per cent) fell under Non-Compliance. In addition, 13 MDAs, representing 3.64 per cent of the total 357 MDAs deployed, were non-responsive and classified as high-risk institutions.
He further disclosed that 169 MDAs lacked clearly articulated core values, mission and vision systems understood by staff, while 191 MDAs had not domesticated policies on acceptance of gifts, donations and hospitality, raising serious integrity concerns. According to him, 102 MDAs did not have strategic plans, while 154 lacked monitoring systems and failed to conduct monitoring and evaluation of their activities, programmes and projects during the year under review.
The ICPC Chairman also revealed that 289 MDAs did not encourage System Studies or Corruption Risk Assessments by their ACTUs, while 315 MDAs failed to use the results of such studies for decision-making. He noted that 99 MDAs lacked guidelines on granting staff advances, 69 did not ensure timely retirement of advances, and 68 failed to ensure that advances were retired before granting fresh ones.
On financial accountability, Dr. Aliyu said 114 MDAs did not render financial reports to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for the year under review. He added that 40 MDAs failed to remit Internally Generated Revenue as required, while 75 MDAs did not comply with fiscal responsibility provisions.
He disclosed that 41 MDAs failed to carry out internal audit activities as and when due, while 96 MDAs did not submit their annual audited accounts to the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and the National Assembly within the stipulated six-month period for the year under review and the past three years. In addition, 58 MDAs did not have external auditors engaged through due process.
On procurement practices, the ICPC Chairman revealed that 88 MDAs did not conduct annual needs assessments before procurement, while 32 MDAs lacked annual procurement plans in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007 and approved budgets. He added that 71 MDAs failed to provide external partners and stakeholders with their principles of ethics and compliance, including sanctions clauses, and also failed to give the minimum one-week notice for stakeholders invited to observe procurement processes.
He further disclosed that 34 MDAs failed to carry out performance certification for ongoing works and did not verify goods supplied before approving payments, while 114 MDAs failed to conduct market surveys during the year under review. In 137 MDAs, procurement officers did not attend any training by the Bureau of Public Procurement or other procurement-related trainings within the year.
Dr. Aliyu also revealed that 50 MDAs had petitions or ongoing investigations by the ICPC over infractions or non-compliance with procurement and recruitment processes. He said 21 MDAs lacked legal instruments establishing their organisations, 16 operated without operational manuals, and 24 failed to conduct annual performance reviews and appraisals, resulting in irregular staff promotions.
On institutional capacity and systems, he disclosed that in 36 MDAs, operational records remained largely manual and non-computerised, while 14 MDAs either lacked official websites or had websites not updated within the last six months. He added that 144 MDAs did not have annual training plans, 146 failed to conduct ethics and compliance training for management and staff, and in 192 MDAs, training consultants were not accredited by relevant regulatory bodies.
The ICPC Chairman further revealed that 241 MDAs did not have domesticated whistle-blower policies, while 269 MDAs’ whistle-blowing policies were not accessible. He noted that 94 MDAs lacked domesticated codes of conduct, while 245 MDAs had codes that were outdated, poorly reviewed or lacked clear procedures for preventing, investigating and redressing non-compliance. In addition, 146 MDAs did not have reward systems to encourage ethical behaviour, while existing systems in some MDAs were neither transparent nor aligned with organisational values.
On the ACTU Effectiveness Index, Dr. Aliyu disclosed that only 33 ACTUs, representing 12.31 per cent, were rated “Very Effective”, 83 ACTUs (30.97 per cent) were rated “Effective”, 142 ACTUs (52.99 per cent) were rated “Ineffective”, while 10 ACTUs (3.73 per cent) were classified as “Dormant”. He added that 89 MDAs, representing 24.93 per cent of those assessed under AEI, had not established ACTUs at all, in breach of the National Anti-Corruption Framework.
Dr. Aliyu said the findings underscore the urgent need for MDAs to strengthen internal controls, institutionalise ethical frameworks and demonstrate stronger leadership commitment to integrity and accountability, stressing that the EICS and AEI remain critical tools for driving reforms and restoring public trust in governance.
