ICPC Challenges Underperforming MDAs to Learn from High-Scoring Institutions
By Pan Afric Reporters
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has challenged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) recording poor performance on its Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) to learn from high-performing institutions and strengthen their systems of transparency, accountability and ethical compliance.
The charge was contained in a statement issued by J. Okor Odey, Head, Media and Public Communications, ICPC, on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, following a One-Day Peer Review Roundtable with Chief Executives of performing and non-performing MDAs on their Annual Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard in Abuja.
The Chairman of the ICPC, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, who spoke at the event organised in collaboration with the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme, said the roundtable was designed to promote peer learning and enable public institutions to share practical experiences on strengthening ethics and integrity systems.
Aliyu described the EICS as one of the Commission’s preventive mechanisms for assessing the compliance of MDAs with ethics, statutes, policies and standards designed to promote transparency and accountability in public administration.
“The MDAs being celebrated today as strong performers on the EICS are proof that the Scorecard works when it is taken seriously; and 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,” he said.
The ICPC chairman explained that the scorecard assesses institutional performance across four major areas: Management Culture and Structure, Financial Management System, Administrative System, and the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU).
According to him, the mechanism is also intended to encourage healthy competition among public institutions while helping them identify areas requiring improvement.
Aliyu further highlighted the importance of ACTUs, describing them as in-house ethics champions responsible for promoting expected standards, providing channels for reporting concerns, monitoring expenditure and reviewing internal processes for potential corruption vulnerabilities.
He stressed, however, that ACTUs could only function effectively when they received adequate support and commitment from the leadership of their respective organisations.
While congratulating the high-performing MDAs, the ICPC chairman urged institutions with lower scores to regard their performance as an opportunity to improve rather than 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,” Aliyu said.
The Component Lead of the RoLAC Programme, Dr Emmanuel Uche, in his goodwill message, commended the ICPC chairman for strengthening institutional processes and sustaining reforms initiated by previous leaderships of the Commission.
Uche said the EICS demonstrated the ICPC’s commitment to helping MDAs identify systemic weaknesses, administrative lapses and procedural loopholes that could create opportunities for corruption.
He urged underperforming institutions to study and adopt effective systems and practices being implemented by high-performing MDAs.
Also speaking, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, called on public sector chief executives to build resilient institutions capable of surviving leadership changes, political pressures and economic shocks.
Kana, who delivered a keynote address 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 valuable reforms.
He identified clarity of purpose, knowledge management, institutional memory, integrity and ethical leadership as critical pillars for building resilient public institutions.
The Permanent Secretary also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s zero-tolerance position on corruption and non-compliance, while calling for stronger collaboration among MDAs and deeper engagement with citizens, academia, civil society and the private sector.
Kana urged public servants to view themselves as trustees of public institutions whose responsibility extends beyond their individual tenure.
He said public officials would ultimately be judged not merely by the offices they occupied but by “the institutions we strengthened, the systems we improved, the values we upheld and the foundations we laid for future generations.”
The roundtable formed part of the ICPC’s broader preventive anti-corruption strategy aimed at strengthening ethical standards, institutional accountability and integrity systems across Nigeria’s public service.
