Supreme Court, NPC Score Zero in ICPC Integrity Ranking; JAMB, Others Shine Bright

Supreme Court, NPC Score Zero in ICPC Integrity Ranking; JAMB, Others Shine Bright

JOEL OLADELE, Abuja 

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has released its 2024 Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS), revealing that several high-profile institutions, including the Supreme Court and the Nigeria Press Council (NPC), received a dismal score of zero points. Conversely, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) emerged as the standout performers, each scoring above 80 percent in the integrity assessment conducted by the anti-graft agency.

The report, unveiled on Thursday at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja, highlighted that other institutions such as the Federal University of Agriculture Umudike, Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, Federal Polytechnic Ede, and the University of Ibadan also received zero points.

Addressing journalists, Demola Bakare, the spokesperson for the ICPC, noted that this poor performance indicates the urgent need for reform and improvement in these institutions.

He said;  “The EICS serves as a preventive tool used to assess and enhance the compliance of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) with ethical standards, policies, and anti-corruption measures.” He further explained that the evaluation examined key areas such as leadership and management, financial management, and policies related to ethics, education, and whistleblower protection.

The report indicated that none of the 330 government agencies evaluated achieved perfect compliance. Instead, the agencies fell into various compliance categories: 29.55 percent showed significant compliance, 51.62 percent had moderate compliance, 15.91 percent demonstrated weak compliance, and 2.92 percent failed to comply.

Common weaknesses identified included a lack of policies to protect whistleblowers and ineffective inventory management, which the ICPC stated undermined the agencies’ ability to operate efficiently and transparently.

Others are failure to conduct regular internal audits and delayed or missing financial and audit reports.

In a related development, ICPC Chairman Musa Adamu Aliyu disclosed on Wednesday that the commission secured 16 convictions and tracked 1,500 projects valued at N610 billion over the past year. “In the past year, the commission processed 851 petitions, fully investigated 95 cases, and filed 72 cases in court, securing 16 convictions,” Aliyu reported.

The findings of the ICPC’s integrity ranking serve as a wake-up call for institutions across Nigeria, emphasizing the critical need for enhanced accountability and ethical governance to combat corruption effectively.