The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and 12 other federal ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) recorded a perfect zero in the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)'s 2025 Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS), classifying them as high-risk institutions amid widespread ethical lapses in Nigeria's public sector.
The assessment, released on December 24, 2025, evaluated 357 out of 360 targeted federal MDAs across four pillars: Management Culture and Structure, Financial Management Systems, Administrative Systems, and the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit. No MDA achieved full compliance, highlighting systemic deficiencies in governance, transparency, and accountability.
NNPC ranked last overall, scoring zero across all indicators and topping the list of 13 non-responsive or high-risk entities. Other failing agencies included the Federal Civil Service Commission (Abuja), University of Calabar, National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Abuja), Federal Medical Centre (Hong, Adamawa), Cross River Basin Development Authority (Calabar), Federal College of Education (Obudu, Cross River), Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies (Jos), and several federal polytechnics and research institutes.
Presenting the scorecard on December 23, 2025, ICPC Chairman Dr Aliyu Musa, represented by Director of Systems Study and Review Mr Olusegun Adigun, described the findings as exposing "widespread weaknesses in ethical standards and institutional integrity across government agencies". He emphasised that the EICS serves as a diagnostic tool to promote transparency, ethical conduct, and resilience in the public sector.
"Of the 357 MDAs assessed, 48 (13.95%) demonstrated substantial compliance, 132 (38.37%) recorded partial compliance, 141 (40.99%) showed poor compliance, and 23 (6.69%) were non-compliant," Adigun stated. "In addition, 13 MDAs (3.64%) were non-responsive and classified as high-risk."
The report revealed broader issues: 169 MDAs lacked core values, mission, and vision systems; 191 had no policies on gifts, donations, or hospitality; 102 operated without strategic plans; and 154 failed to implement monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Whistle-blowing policies were weak in 241 MDAs, and many used outdated codes of conduct.
In stark contrast, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) topped the ranking with 91.83 points, followed by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) at 90.70 and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) at 89.93. These agencies demonstrated stronger internal controls and ethical frameworks.
The ICPC warned of potential consequences for persistent failures. "MDAs with consistently low scores of non-compliance and no responsive status will be subjected to profiling through system studies and appropriate enforcement actions," the commission stated.
The ICPC affirmed its commitment to annual administration of the EICS to drive improvements and accountability across the federal public service.
