The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has challenged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) recording poor results on its Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) to learn from high-performing institutions and strengthen their internal ethics and accountability systems.
The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu gave the charge on Tuesday in Abuja at a One-Day Peer Review Roundtable involving chief executives of performing and non-performing MDAs on the Annual Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard.
According to an official statement signed by J. Okor Odey, Head, Media and Public Communications, ICPC, the roundtable was organised by the Commission in collaboration with the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme to promote peer learning and facilitate the exchange of practical experiences on strengthening ethics and integrity across the public service.
Aliyu said the performance of some MDAs demonstrated that the scorecard could drive institutional improvement when taken seriously, urging weaker-performing institutions to study and adopt the practices responsible for better outcomes elsewhere.
“The MDAs being celebrated today as strong performers on the EICS are proof that the Scorecard works when it is taken seriously,” the ICPC Chairman said.
He described the roundtable as an opportunity for underperforming institutions to learn directly from their peers and develop practical measures to close identified gaps.
“For MDAs still finding their footing, today’s roundtable is designed exactly for you as a chance to learn from those who are getting it right,” Aliyu said.
The ICPC Chairman explained that the EICS is one of the Commission’s preventive mechanisms for assessing the extent to which MDAs comply with ethics, statutes, policies and standards promoting transparency and accountability.
He said the scorecard assesses institutions across four key areas: Management Culture and Structure, Financial Management System, Administrative System, and the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU).
According to him, the assessment is also intended to encourage healthy competition among public institutions and motivate them to continuously strengthen their internal systems.
Aliyu emphasised the strategic importance of ACTUs, describing them as in-house ethics champions that help organisations promote expected standards, provide channels for reporting concerns, monitor expenditure and identify corruption vulnerabilities in internal processes.
“ACTUs perform more effectively when they receive the necessary support and commitment from the leadership of their organisations,” he said.
The Chairman congratulated the high-performing MDAs but urged institutions with weaker scores not to view their performance as a source of embarrassment.
“To those still working towards it, please do not see today as a scorecard of shame, but as an honest starting point and an invitation to learn from your colleagues in the room,” he said.
He stressed that the objective of the EICS was not merely to rank institutions but to identify weaknesses and encourage practical reforms capable of strengthening integrity and accountability in public administration.
In his goodwill message, the Component Lead of the RoLAC Programme, Dr. Emmanuel Uche, commended Aliyu for strengthening institutional processes and sustaining reforms initiated by previous leaderships of the Commission.
Uche said the EICS provided an important mechanism for helping MDAs identify systemic weaknesses, administrative lapses and procedural loopholes that could create opportunities for corruption.
He urged underperforming institutions to examine the systems and practices of high-performing MDAs and adapt relevant measures to their own institutional environments.
In a keynote address, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, urged public sector chief executives to build resilient institutions capable of surviving leadership changes, political pressures and economic shocks.
Kana, who presented a paper titled “The Public Executive: Building Resilient Institutions Beyond Political Tenure,” warned that weak institutional systems could lead to policy discontinuity, organisational instability, loss of institutional knowledge and abandonment of reforms.
He identified clarity of purpose, knowledge management, institutional memory, integrity and ethical leadership as essential pillars of resilient public institutions.
“Building resilient institutions requires more than occupying public offices; it requires creating systems that can endure beyond the tenure of individual office holders,” Kana said.
He reiterated the Federal Government’s zero tolerance for corruption and non-compliance, while calling for stronger collaboration among MDAs and greater engagement with citizens, academia, civil society and the private sector.
Kana also challenged public servants to see themselves as trustees of public institutions for future generations, stressing that their ultimate legacy would be determined by the institutions and systems they strengthened.
“You will ultimately be judged not merely by the offices you occupied, but by the institutions we strengthened, the systems we improved, the values we upheld and the foundations we laid for future generations,” he said.
