The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced a comprehensive workforce and structural audit aimed at addressing staffing imbalances and strengthening the Commission’s institutional capacity.
The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this while inaugurating the Commission’s Workforce and Structural Audit Committee.
According to an official statement signed by J. Okor Odey, Head, Media and Public Communications, ICPC, Aliyu said the exercise would align the Commission’s personnel structure with its anti-corruption mandate and operational requirements.
He described the audit as one of the most consequential internal exercises being undertaken by the Commission, saying it would provide a verified basis for determining the appropriate workforce structure, skills and deployment needed to effectively deliver on its mandate.
The ICPC Chairman explained that since the establishment of the Commission in 2000 and the recruitment of its first 88 officers in 2002, recruitment had taken place at irregular intervals without a deliberate policy for coherent workforce progression.
He said this had created imbalances in the workforce, including a disproportionate concentration of middle and senior-level officers in some areas compared with personnel at the operational level.
Aliyu said the audit would therefore assess the Commission’s approved structure alongside its actual workforce, deployment and operational needs to identify gaps and recommend appropriate interventions.
He stressed that the exercise would be evidence-based, with the committee expected to rely on verifiable institutional records, including case-tracking data, court schedules, petition registers and other operational records.
The Chairman also cautioned against relying solely on numerical ratios in determining workforce requirements, noting that the complexity of cases handled by the Commission and the need for specialised expertise must be considered.
Aliyu further called for a stronger law-enforcement culture within the ICPC, insisting that the Commission’s institutional identity must consistently reflect its mandate as a law-enforcement and anti-corruption agency.
“The ICPC is a law-enforcement agency, and our culture must reflect that in full. We cannot claim to be law enforcement when it suits us, and conduct ourselves as a core Civil Service establishment when that suits us instead,” he said.
He stressed that the Commission must shed any perception of an institutional identity crisis and consistently uphold its responsibilities as a law-enforcement agency.
The Chairman clarified that the audit was not designed to victimise staff or reduce the workforce, but to ensure effective deployment, strengthen institutional capacity and establish a merit-based structure that supports the Commission’s mandate.
In his remarks, the Secretary to the Commission, Mr. Clifford Okwudiri Oparaodu, DSSRS, commended Aliyu for initiating the exercise, saying it would contribute to strengthening the institution’s capacity.
Oparaodu urged members of the committee to give the assignment their best efforts and ensure that its objectives were achieved.
He also called on them to support the Chairman and management in developing practical and sustainable measures to strengthen the Commission and leave a lasting legacy.
Responding on behalf of the committee members, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, who chairs the committee, thanked the Commission for the confidence reposed in them and pledged to bring integrity and expertise to the assignment.
