The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and 12 other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government have recorded zero scores in the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
According to a publication released by the anti-graft agency on Wednesday, the NNPC ranked last among the 357 MDAs assessed, scoring zero across all four key pillar indicators used in the evaluation.
While the national oil company failed the assessment, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) emerged as the highest-rated agency, scoring 91.83.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NMDPRA) placed 278th on the list with a score of 38.25, reflecting a wide performance gap within the petroleum sector.
The ICPC explained that the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard was designed as a diagnostic and accountability tool to promote transparency, ethical conduct and institutional resilience within Nigeria’s public sector.
According to the commission, the scorecard assesses compliance across four key pillars:
- Management Culture and Structure,
- Financial Management Systems,
- Administrative Systems, and
Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit.
These indicators, it said, collectively capture the core elements of ethics and governance in the public service.
For the 2025 assessment year, the EICS was deployed across 360 target MDAs, out of which three were exempted, leaving 357 MDAs effectively assessed.
Naijaonpoint reports that while presenting the scorecard on Tuesday, the ICPC Chairman, Dr Aliyu Musa, represented by the Director of Systems Study and Review Department, Mr Olusegun Adigun, said the exercise revealed widespread weaknesses in ethical standards and institutional integrity across government agencies.
According to him, only 48 MDAs (13.95 per cent) recorded substantial compliance, while 132 MDAs (38.37 per cent) achieved partial compliance. Another 141 MDAs (40.99 per cent) showed poor compliance, and 23 MDAs (6.69 per cent) were classified as non-compliant.
“No MDA achieved full compliance,” Adigun said, adding that 13 MDAs were non-responsive during the exercise and were consequently classified as high-risk institutions.
NNPC Tops High-risk List
The Wednesday advertorial showed that the NNPC topped the list of the 13 high-risk MDAs.
Others listed 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, Adamawa State; the University of Calabar; the Cross River Basin Development Authority, Calabar; and the Federal College of Education, Obudu, Cross River State.
Also named were the Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology, Benue; the National Metallurgical Development Centre, Jos, Plateau State; the National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Abia State; the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority, Ilorin, Kwara State; and the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State.
On the other end of the spectrum, the top-compliant MDAs include the NUPRC, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, and the Bank of Industry, among others.
The ICPC said it would continue administering the EICS and warned that MDAs with persistently low scores would face closer scrutiny.
“This is to ensure and encourage MDAs’ compliance with government statutes, policies, and directives to promote integrity, accountability, efficiency, and productivity in government business. However, 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.