By Ayomide Otitoju
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and 12 other federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) recorded zero in the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
According to the ICPC’s publication on Wednesday, the NNPC ranked last among 357 MDAs assessed, scoring zero across all four key pillar indicators. In contrast, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) topped the list with a score of 91.83, while the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NMDPRA) was ranked 278th with a score of 38.25.
The ICPC said the EICS was designed as a diagnostic and accountability tool to strengthen transparency, ethical conduct, and institutional resilience within Nigeria’s public sector. The scorecard measures compliance across four pillars: Management Culture and Structure, Financial Management Systems, Administrative Systems, and the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit.
For the 2025 assessment year, the EICS was deployed across 360 federal MDAs, with three exempted, leaving 357 MDAs effectively assessed. Presenting the scorecard on Tuesday, ICPC Chairman Dr. Aliyu Musa, represented by Mr. Olusegun Adigun, Director of the Systems Study and Review Department, said the assessment revealed widespread weaknesses in ethics and institutional integrity.
According to the ICPC, 48 MDAs (13.95%) achieved substantial compliance, 132 MDAs (38.37%) attained partial compliance, and 141 MDAs (40.99%) recorded poor compliance. Twenty-three MDAs (6.69%) were classified as non-compliant, with no MDA achieving full compliance. Thirteen MDAs were non-responsive and labeled as high-risk institutions, with the NNPC topping this list.
Other high-risk MDAs include the Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies, Jos; the Federal Civil Service Commission, Abuja; the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Abuja; the Federal Medical Centre, Hong; the University of Calabar; the Cross River Basin Development Authority, Calabar; the Federal College of Education, Obudu; the Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology, Benue; the National Metallurgical Development Centre, Jos; the National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike; the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority, Ilorin; and the Federal Polytechnic, Ede.
Top-performing MDAs include NUPRC, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, and the Bank of Industry.
The ICPC stated it will continue administering the EICS and warned that MDAs with persistently low compliance scores will be profiled and subjected to enforcement actions. “This is to ensure and encourage MDAs’ compliance with government statutes, policies, and directives to promote integrity, accountability, efficiency, and productivity,” the commission said.
Attempts to reach NNPC spokesman Andy Odeh for comment were unsuccessful, as calls and messages went unanswered.
